Cambodia’s paddy rice production in 2012-13 increased to around 9.31
million tons, up around 6% from about 8.8 million tons produced in
2011-12, according to the country’s Agriculture Minister. These figures
are much higher than USDA estimates of around 7.5 million tons of paddy
production in 2011-12.
The minister said that the increase in production helped Cambodia’s
milled rice exports to a record high of over 200,000 tons, up about 17%
from 170,772 tons of rice exported in 2010-11. However, he added that
export figures could have been higher if not for the flood scare last
year. He told local sources, “All of the rice millers and farmers
thought that there was a huge flood coming, so rice millers did not
export because they thought that the price of rice in the country would
be high.”
The Cambodia government is targeting to increase rice exports to 1
million tons by 2015, and is investing in rice processing facilities and
providing credit to farmers. Last year’s Magsaysay Award winner, Dr.
Yang Saing Koma said that such measures are helping and rice exports in
2012 were hurt due to lack of buying by traditional buyer Vietnam in the
face of increased supply of rice in the international market.
Dr. Koma also mentioned that purchase price of paddy decreased by about
20% last year, from around 1,000 riel per kilogram (about $250 per ton)
to around 800 riel per kilogram (about $200 per ton), due to low global
prices.
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