Cambodia exported $2.09 billion of agricultural products to the international market from January through April, according to Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Veng Sakhon.

Sakhon said the ministry has promoted and helped to diversify the sector by aiding its switch from traditional methods of farming to modern techniques more suited for the wider international market.

The minister added that the ministry has been busy preparing measures to open the marketplace for domestic agriculture and mentioned the recent approval by the General Administration of Customs of China for the export of fresh mangoes to China. The agriculture minister said the free trade agreement (FTA) with China and the soon to be ratified FTA with South Korea are signs that trade volume will increase in the sector and open up even more opportunities for exports.

Last year, China committed to the importation of 500,000 tonnes of “quality” mangoes from Cambodia. In 2020, the Kingdom exported 945,274 tonnes of fresh mangoes to the European Union, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. These exports were worth approximately $473.2 million.

Cambodia’s milled rice exports for January to April of 2021 were down 36 percent compared with the first four months of 2020, according to MAFF.

In total 192,495 tonnes of milled rice were shipped, generating more than $161.69 million. China remained the biggest export market for Cambodian milled rice, accounting for 54.42 percent of the total shipped.  The next leading destinations were 20 countries in Europe, four countries in ASEAN and 18 other nations.

The report also cited that, during the first four months of this year, Cambodia exported 1,529,280 tonnes of paddy rice to neighbouring Vietnam, a year-on-year increase of some 73 percent. These shipments generated more than $221 million.

According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the agricultural sector is predicted to grow by 1.3 percent in 2021 and 1.2 percent in 2022. The sector was hit by floods last year but will rebound with growth in aquaculture and an increase in exports to the Chinese market.

• Tags: agricultural, agricultural exports, exports