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Cambodia: Rice federation seeks more opportunities
The Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) is seeking more business opportunities for Cambodia’s rice sector by signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bank of China (Hong Kong) Ltd on the third China International Import Expo (CIIE) project to promote the industry.
The MoU was signed by Song Saran, president of the CRF, and Bank of China (Hong Kong) Ltd Phnom Penh branch (BOC), represented by Liu Zheng.
“As the strategic partner of the third CIIE, BOC acknowledges the CRF as an important business association in Cambodia with the advantage of having many corporate members,” Saran said.
He said it will actively introduce corporate members to BOC, having the intention to participate in the CIIE for CRF’s members to get opportunities in global trade and expand business.
Saran said the MOU is an essential key principle to further facilitate the implementation of the third CIIE project, in which both the CRF and BOC have agreed to leverage their respective strengths to further deepen a strategic alliance.
Cambodia’s rice exports rose 31.05 percent, reaching 448,203 tonnes, in the first eight months of the year, according to a report from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
China is still the top market for Cambodian rice exports with around 159,253 tonnes in the first eight months, followed by France with 56,964 tonnes. However, In Asean countries, Malaysia imported about 23, 201 tonnes from Cambodia, Vietnam 12,836 tonnes and Brunei 10,500 tonnes.
According to the announcement from CIIE, the third CIIE will be held as scheduled from Nov 5-10 in Shanghai, China.
“The CRF strongly expects to actively participate in this event as well as aiming to promote Cambodia’s rice brand on the international stage. It is also seeking more business opportunities in the rice sector and related sectors from the event,” he said.
Saran said that the sector needs about $300 million to buy rice paddy during this year to reach the target of 800,000 tonnes in exports.
“With the target of exporting 800,000 tonnes of rice this year, the government needs to inject between $80 million to $100 million while the private sector needs to have reserves of about $200 million,” he said.
He added both state and private sectors will also need to inject more money to reach the ultimate target of 1 million tonnes.
Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50761312/rice-federation-seeks-more-opportunities/