Cambodian vegetable farmers forced to compete with Vietnamese rivals

PHNOM PENH, 30 September 2012 (Cambodia Herald) - Cambodian vegetable farmers say they are being forced to compete with more efficient farmers in Vietnam who use farming techniques to make their vegetables grow faster.

Farmers in Sambork Meas, a village on the Mekong River in Mokkompul commune in Bakkeng district in Kandal province, say massive imports of vegetables from Vietnam are shaking their incomes.

The farmers grow lettuce, cabbage, eggplant, kailan, ginger and other vegetables on their own land or land leased from others.

A farmer identified as Chany, who grows vegetables on leased land, said imports were eroding her prices.

"I find it hard to sell these vegetables as there are more imports from Vietnam than our local produce which reduces the prices of our vegetables," she said.

Chany said she earned 800,000 to one million riel from her 27 patches of cabbages which take a month to grow. Her 37 beds of gingers yield 700,000 to one million riel. The vegetables are harvested about seven times a year.

"I earn my income from these vegetables. If I don't make a profit, I have to borrow money from the micro-finance center and have to pay high interest rates," she said.

"I beg Cambodians not to look down on our local produce," she​​ said. "They should feel sorry for us farmers."