Cambodia launches direct sea shipments of rice to Philippines

Cambodia launches direct sea shipments of rice to Philippines

A new direct maritime route opens opportunities for rice exporters to secure a larger market share.

Cambodia is stepping up efforts to expand its rice exports to the Philippines as rising demand and a new direct maritime route create opportunities for Cambodian rice exporters to secure a larger share of the market.

A 20,000-tonne shipment of Cambodian rice worth more than $10 million is being shipped from Kampot Multipurpose Port in southwestern Cambodia’s coastal Kampot province to four Philippine ports – Subic, Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga and Bataan – between Thursday and yesterday.

The shipment, handled by Cambodian rice exporter Signature Rice, is being transported through a new direct sea route that has reduced transit time from around 21 days to between five and seven days.

Signature Rice Managing Director Chan Pich said the Philippines represents a major market for Cambodian rice, with significant potential for expanding regular shipments.

Speaking to Khmer Times on Sunday, Pich said, “The Philippines is a large rice market, and we see far greater opportunities for Cambodian rice than what we are exporting today.”

“What we are building is a supply route that allows us to ship larger volumes regularly and competitively, so Cambodian rice can capture a greater share of this market,” he added.

The latest shipment is part of Signature Rice’s broader expansion plan. The company aims to export 60,000 tonnes of rice to the Philippines during the final quarter of 2026, including another 40,000 tonnes planned for November and December.

The company is targeting around 100,000 tonnes of Cambodian rice exports to the Philippine market in 2027.

The expansion comes as Philippine purchases of Cambodian rice have increased significantly this year.

Data from the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) showed that Cambodian rice exports to the Philippines rose from just 1,620 tonnes in January to 35,450 tonnes in September.

During the first nine months of 2026, the Philippines imported 157,552 tonnes of Cambodian rice, nearly matching Vietnam’s 159,946 tonnes over the same period.

Chan Pich said Cambodia should focus on building stable and long-term supply arrangements with the Philippines to capture a larger share of the country’s rice import demand.

To support its export expansion, Signature Rice has developed an integrated supply chain covering production, sourcing and logistics.

The company works with farmers, agricultural cooperatives and farmer groups under contract farming arrangements in Preah Vihear, Kampong Thom, Battambang, Siem Reap, Banteay Meanchey and other provinces.

The model allows the company to manage paddy sourcing, supply volumes, quality and traceability from farms through to export markets.

Signature Rice has been exporting Cambodian rice since 2009 and currently supplies 36 markets across four continents.

The expansion of rice trade with the Philippines follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on Agricultural Cooperation between Cambodia and the Philippines in Manila in February 2025, which provided a framework for strengthening agricultural trade and cooperation between the two countries.

This shipment also supports the government’s long-awaited goal of exporting 1 million tonnes of rice per year, which was set in 2015, which recorded 538,396 tonnes in total exports.

Data from the CRF showed that in the first eight months of 2026, Cambodia exported a total of 792,212 tonnes of rice to international markets, an increase of 67.5 percent compared to the same period in 2025.

khmertimeskh