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Cambodia: Pandemic lifts cassava exports, holds back rice
The lifting of travel restrictions has resulted in an uptick in commodity prices for rice, despite exports falling more than 23 percent so far this year.
Battambang Provincial Agriculture Department Deputy Director In Sovanmony told Khmer Times rice prices had increased in the open market in recent weeks, despite the drop in exports.
Farmers were selling the grains for 720 riels per kilogramme during travel restrictions and are now selling it for 800 riels per killogramme, he said.
“The price went up because the border opened and the middlemen were able to travel to buy from our farmers,” Sovanmony said from the rice bowl.
More than 80 percent of the country’s agricultural production is from the harvesting of main paddy crops with Battambang province being the second-largest producer in the Kingdom, according to UN Food and Agricultural Organization data.
Volatile prices for the commodity on the open market have forced farmers to be more inventive and diversify their crops with many in upland areas choosing to grow bananas while others are growing black pepper and vegetables.
Sovanmony said that while many farmers have not yet adopted growing organic rice, some have decided to grow organic vegetables because they command higher prices.
Instead, they have dedicated valuable time and resources to growing and processing Phka Rumduol – a fragrant variety that was named “World’s Best Rice” at the Rice Traders’ World Conference for three consecutive years until 2014.
“Whether they grow organic rice will depend on the market. It was just introduced to our farmers. Our focus right now is introducing additional standards so that we can export rice to other ASEAN countries,” he noted.
Despite the enthusiasm in Battambang, rice growers continue to face challenges as demand for the staple continues to plunge amid restaurant closures at home and abroad.
Yang Saing Koma, founder of the Cambodian Center for Study and Development in Agriculture, said he had a better outlook for exports of paddy rice over processed rice.
Koma said the country needed investments in drying, milling and storing rice so that it can compete with other markets such as Vietnam, which purchase a substantial amount of the crop only to process it and export it themselves.
Much of this rice, he said, is imported back to Cambodia informally and sold to supply the domestic market.
“Despite the recent increase in the price of paddy rice, it is still very low. The impact of the border closure with Vietnam affected exports and local mills are not buying as much during the pandemic because they are facing their own financial issues,” Koma said.
The crop was the only product to see a decline in exports, according to Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries data.
In a statement, the ministry said that the decline was in part because of a lack of containers for storage and higher costs for shipment.
Excluding rice, total agricultural exports this year increased by 110.15 percent with dried cassava seeing the highest increase in demand.
Koma said cassava had seen a marked increase because it can be used to make rubbing alcohol.
Total exports were valued at $3.232 billion in the first eight months of this year with rice accounting for more than $291.929 million.
Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50927652/pandemic-lifts-cassava-exports-holds-back-rice/