Cambodia has signed an agreement with Bangladesh to export 25,000 tons of rice as the first phase of a deal that will see the two countries collaborate further in the future.
On November 22, Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) announced that the exporting of 25,000 tonnes will happen in the near future.
“Both countries have already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to export two types of rice, including parboil rice and white rice. Cambodia is ready to export 25,000 tonnes of rice to Bangladesh for the first time, which could be implemented in the near future,“ CRF said in the statement.
The statement added that Bangladesh is interested in investing in a processing factory to produce steamed rice in Cambodia and export it to Bangladesh.
Economist Ky Sereyvath told Kiripost on Wednesday that Cambodia welcomes all markets that want to invest in Cambodia, as Cambodian rice has been ranked the world’s best.
“In exporting, we see that there are many kinds on the market that are exported to Europe as high quality rice,” Sereyvath said.
He added that Cambodia can also be found in more markets, where it is the second rice standard after Europe for quality; it may be the standard of other countries that are lower. This can help to open up more opportunities for rice mills to export.
“Cambodia should have more markets to encourage greater market opportunities, avoiding pricing from neighboring countries as recently, with the news that rice prices are falling due to the harvest season, which neighbors do not want to buy from. That is a marketing strategy and a strategy to lower the price of our farmers' products,” Sereyvath added.
According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), in 2020, Cambodia exported $9.23 million to Bangladesh. The main products are light rubberized knitted fabric, bi-wheel vehicle parts and heavy mixed woven cotton. While Bangladesh exported $10.9 million to Cambodia. The main products were packaged medicaments, other vegetable residues and waste and heavy mixed woven cotton
For the first 10 months of 2022, exports increased 10 percent to more than 500,000 tons, valued at about $323 million, of which China accounted for more than 45 percent of total exports, while the EU market is returning to normal, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
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