Cambodia Moves to Curb Rice Price Hikes

A vendor, right, sells cooked rice at a roadside store in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, March 27, 2008. Cambodia's government appealed for calm Thursday as it rushed out a series of economic measures to address soaring food prices.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Thursday March 27, 2008

By Ker Munthit, Associated Press Writer

Cambodia Takes Steps to Curb Soaring Rice and Food Prices

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) -- Cambodia's government appealed for calm Thursday as it rushed out a series of economic measures to address soaring food prices.
The measures -- announced in three separate statements Wednesday evening -- came one day after Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered a ban on rice exports to neighboring Thailand and Vietnam in a bid to bring down domestic prices of the staple.
The price of low-grade rice in Phnom Penh's markets has risen to about 2,000 riel (50 cents) per kilogram from 1,300 riel (30 cents) about three months ago.
Finance Minister Keat Chhon appealed for the Cambodian people "to remain calm ... and not to stock up on food commodities, which could make the situation even harder."
In addition to the rice export ban, the government said it would release surplus rice from its reserves to help bring down prices. Authorities also said they would impose measures to stop illegal stockpiling and implement a better distribution system to get rice to areas with shortages.
The measures also cited higher prices for other foods, but gave few specifics. The price of many foods have been gradually rising for months, partly due to higher fuel costs.
Although it is part of a global problem, the current price situation "is affecting the daily livelihoods of our citizens," Hun Sen said in a letter to his finance and commerce ministers that was released Thursday.
Hun Sen asked that finance and commerce ministers start discussions with garment factory operators on ways to raise wages "in order to increase productivity of the factories" and address the imbalance between workers' incomes and market prices for essential goods.
The garment industry is the major export earnings sector in Cambodia, where some 35 percent of the country's 14 million people live on less than 50 cents a day. The industry employs about 355,000 workers, mostly women.
Many members of the Cambodian Free Trade Union, one of several representing garment workers, had originally planned to stage a strike this week to demand a wage increase, said Srei Seiha, a spokesman for the group.
He said the group has now postponed the planned strike pending negotiations with the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia to have the workers' basic wage elevated to $55 from $50 a month.
"The current wage cannot keep up with the prices on the market," he said.
The president of the manufacturers association, Van Sou Ieng, could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh blamed the situation on "opportunists" trying to make political gains ahead of a July general election.
In "trying to point figures at others," the government simply shows it lacks responsibility and competence in tackling the problems, said Mu Sochua, deputy secretary-general of Cambodia's main opposition group, the Sam Rainsy Party.