Rice exports surpass 630,000 tonnes in H1

Rice exports surpass 630,000 tonnes in H1

CRF expects rice exports to reach one million tonnes by the end of 2026.

Cambodia exported 630,319 tonnes of milled rice to foreign markets in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of 63 percent from 387,070 tonnes in the same period last year, the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) report showed on Wednesday.

The commodity exported earned over $367 million, an increase of 29.5 percent year-on-year from $283 million in the first six months of 2025.

The milled rice was exported to 64 countries and regions, in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, and the European Union.

ASEAN nations imported a cumulative 208,593 tonnes of Cambodia’s milled rice, or 33 percent of the total export and 162,125 tonnes were exported to China, accounting for 25.7 percent, during the period, read the report.

The EU nations imported 154,254 tonnes, or 24 percent of the total, while 43,940 tonnes were shipped to other destinations, including countries in Africa, the Middle East, the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

CRF President Lay Chhun Hour attributed the exceptional growth to the increasing global demand for Cambodian rice and reinforced the investment case for downstream processing.

“The main driver of strong export momentum is that Cambodia has a large surplus of rice from domestic consumption for processing and export, while foreign markets have high demand, especially in existing markets such as the Philippines, China and the EU bloc,” Chhun Hour told Khmer Times.

Fragrant rice continued to dominate rice exports, accounting for 59.81 percent of total milled rice shipments during the period.

Cambodia has set an ambitious goal to export 1 million tonnes of milled rice to international markets.

khmertimeskh