By Khmerization
Source: RFA
Leaders of the five rice-producing countries are scheduled to meet in Phnom Penh from 16-17 November to discuss about rice exports to international markets.
The planned meeting between the leaders of Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Burma is part of the annual meeting between the 5 countries to discuss about economic co-operation called the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (Acmecs) meeting.
According to the Cambodian sources, rice experts from Vietnam and Thailand, the world's two leading rice-exporting countries, will teach Cambodian officials and farmers on how to select the best rice seeds and increase rice productions as well as teaching Cambodian millers the techniques to mill and pack rice to international standards.
Prime Minister Hun Sen had said in the past that Cambodia cannot depends on garment exports alone. And in August he announced that Cambodia had a surplus of 4 million tons of rice. He said Cambodia plans to boost its annual rice exports to international markets to 1 million tons by 2015. He said if Cambodia had exported just 3 million of the 4 million tons of rice surplus per year, Cambodia will earn $2,100 million or equivalent to 20% GDP which will contribute $600 million to the national budget in extra revenue.
Mr. Thon Virak, president of the rice-exporting company called Green Trade, said Cambodian rice exporting companies can learn a lot from the Acmecs. He said figures that his company received from the Commerce Ministry indicated that in the first 6 months of this year, Cambodia had exported about 10,600 tons of rice to international markets, comparing to Vietnam's annual exports of about 6.2 millions tons and Thailand's exports of about 8.2 million tons. He added that if Cambodia can boost its rice exports to 1 million tons per year, it will help boost incomes for Cambodian population significantly, as 80% of Cambodian population are farmers.
Source: RFA
Leaders of the five rice-producing countries are scheduled to meet in Phnom Penh from 16-17 November to discuss about rice exports to international markets.
The planned meeting between the leaders of Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Burma is part of the annual meeting between the 5 countries to discuss about economic co-operation called the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (Acmecs) meeting.
According to the Cambodian sources, rice experts from Vietnam and Thailand, the world's two leading rice-exporting countries, will teach Cambodian officials and farmers on how to select the best rice seeds and increase rice productions as well as teaching Cambodian millers the techniques to mill and pack rice to international standards.
Prime Minister Hun Sen had said in the past that Cambodia cannot depends on garment exports alone. And in August he announced that Cambodia had a surplus of 4 million tons of rice. He said Cambodia plans to boost its annual rice exports to international markets to 1 million tons by 2015. He said if Cambodia had exported just 3 million of the 4 million tons of rice surplus per year, Cambodia will earn $2,100 million or equivalent to 20% GDP which will contribute $600 million to the national budget in extra revenue.
Mr. Thon Virak, president of the rice-exporting company called Green Trade, said Cambodian rice exporting companies can learn a lot from the Acmecs. He said figures that his company received from the Commerce Ministry indicated that in the first 6 months of this year, Cambodia had exported about 10,600 tons of rice to international markets, comparing to Vietnam's annual exports of about 6.2 millions tons and Thailand's exports of about 8.2 million tons. He added that if Cambodia can boost its rice exports to 1 million tons per year, it will help boost incomes for Cambodian population significantly, as 80% of Cambodian population are farmers.
2 comments:
Thailand and Vietnam had been supplementing their rice exporting by purchasing rice for a penny to a dollar deal from the poor Cambodian farmers. Now that Cambodia is building rice mills, better way of shipping, and banks offering small loans to farmers to buy farming equipments and the mean to produce more and better rice, Cambodia will reach 1 million ton of rice exporting goal. Cambodia is capable of producing more than that set goals but for 1 million ton is do-able. Cambodia government needs to encourage farmers to stop selling rice for a penny to dollar deals with foreign buyers. Selling to foreign buyers is
stealing and robbing from Cambodia's rice exporting
market.
True, some of the rice Vietnam and Thailand exported are bought from Cambodian farmers for peanut price. Cambodia must upgrade its exporting capacity by raising the standards of its milled rice and packaging to international standard and sell directly to the international markets to get the real price, not the peanut price paid by Thai and Vietnamese traders.
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