Cambodian Farmers ‘Undermined by Flood of Imports’

Cambodian Farmers ‘Undermined by Flood of Imports’

Khmer Times/Chea Vannak

Wednesday, 09 March 2016

Imported vegetables are driving local farmers out of business, experts warn. KT/ Fabien Mouret

Vegetables, fruit and other food products imported from neighboring countries are undermining domestic agricultural production and steps need to be taken to assist the industry here, a forum was told yesterday.

Despite the fact that the amount of locally produced agricultural products has grown in recent years, more needs to be done to help the industry, speakers told the Woman Farmer Champions in Agriculture forum yesterday.

Major barriers to developing the industry include a lack of water, limited finances and a lack of markets. 

Dem Sreylim, the deputy director of Chamroeun Phal Raingkesey agricultural cooperative in Battambang province’s Sangke district, said these challenges prevent farmers from increasing production.

Research conducted by the Center for Policy Studies’ program shows that 200 to 400 tons of vegetables are imported daily from neighboring countries. The research found that between $150 million and $250 million is spent annually on vegetable imports from Vietnam, Thailand and China. 

Experts at the forum said Cambodia loses economic benefits when tons of agricultural products from neighboring countries are shipped in. The imports undercut local farmers, they said. 

Sophan Kanhana, head of program management at NGO Caritas Cambodia, said imported produce was undermining domestic farmers. “If we just focus on vegetables alone, many tons are imported per day,” she said. 

Ms. Kanhana said the imports were preventing a flow of cash from towns and cities to rural areas, which causes food insecurity and encourages local farmers to seek jobs in other countries.  

The import of agricultural products is one of the factors pushing Cambodian farmers to stop farming. “Cambodian farmers can produce products to support the market, but the products end up as surplus at the markets where imported agricultural products are sold. So we cannot compete with them as local products are higher in price,” Ms. Kanhana said. 

Experts said Cambodian farmers face four main challenges: a lack of water, financial support, markets for products, and the high cost of electricity for production. These problems need to be solved efficiency to encourage local producers, they said. 

Tek Vannara, the executive director of NGO Forum, said that the costs of production remain high, while local production is still low. “The government should help with prices, so farmers will increase their production for markets,” he said. “As the ASEAN Economic Community integrated late in December 2015, Cambodia should pay more attention and strengthen our local products,” he added, referring to the regional market for Cambodia’s products.

Both Mr. Vannara and Ms. Kanhana said Cambodia could not stop allowing imported goods from other countries because Cambodia is a part of the ASEAN Economic Community. 

With ASEAN integration, competition should help bring down the high price of agricultural production, which can help Cambodian farmers increase their products, Mr. Vannara said. 

Ty Sokun, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said he recognized the main challenges related to increasing agricultural production in Cambodia, but said the government has implemented a policy to help the industry. “As we can see, more irrigation systems have been built year to year,” Mr. Sokun said. “Cambodia has now become a country that exports agricultural products from a country that lacked food before, which reflects the government’s efforts on agriculture.” 

The government will allocate about $6 million from the national budget to upgrade and expand vegetable farms to reduce reliance on imports from neighboring countries, according to the draft “Boosting Food Production Program (2016-2018)” released by the Center for Policy Studies. 

The $6 million budget will begin with infrastructure, including building storage facilities, irrigation ponds, drip-irrigation systems, transportation to markets and upgrading markets, as well as developing sites for fertilizer and compost production.

Vongsey Vissoth, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said recently that vegetable production in Cambodia lags behind neighboring countries, which has caused the Kingdom to rely on imports that cost about $200 million a year.  

In order to support local organic products, the Japanese government has given a grant of about $330,000 to strengthen the organic rice market in Preah Vihear province and build a new market for selling locally-grown vegetables.