Coconut farmers have been given a boost after an agreement was signed to start exporting fresh coconuts to China.

After signing a protocol on the phytosanitary requirements for fresh coconut exports from Cambodia to China, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries General Department of Agriculture announced on Wednesday that Cambodia can now export fresh coconut to the China market.

Coconut plantations, the community of fragrant coconut agriculture, and fresh coconut processing and packaging factories intending to produce and process fresh coconut for export to China can request for registration at the General Department of Agriculture.

“After receiving the application, the General Department of Agriculture will assign a professional officer to evaluate in accordance with the technical procedures as stated in the protocol,” stated the notice from the Ministry of Agriculture.

“The General Department of Agriculture plans to send a list of plantations and processing plants for fresh coconuts to the Chinese side in early December 2023 for the Chinese side to review and evaluate before reaching official exports.”

Im Rachana, spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, stated that once this protocol is in place, Cambodia will have to work with farmers to make sure that coconuts are grown in accordance with the sanitary and phytosanitary guidelines established by the Chinese Customs Administration.

Hong Vannak, an Economic Research at Royal Academy of Cambodia, said exporting coconuts to the Chinese market can help farmers to find more marketplaces to sell their products on a larger scale than before.

“Since now we have more markets with China, it will provide many benefits for farmers. Before our coconut plantations were for retail sale only. Now we can reach wholesale levels,” he said.

However, to ensure the process of exporting coconuts is sustainable in the long-run, Vannak suggested having proper consistency plantations and productions to supply foreign markets consistently. Moreover, a coconut association should be formed to help facilitate the exporting process.

“If we can do coconut processing to produce other kinds of products besides fresh coconuts, it might be better to expand more types to the next level,” he added.

In 2022, Cambodia had 17,000 hectares of coconut plantations, of which 14,000 hectares were harvested. The total output in 2022 nationwide was 248,000 tons.