Thailand
Cambodia: National cashew policy to expand capacity and exports
The government is drawing up a national policy to strengthen Cambodia’s capacity to grow, process and export cashew products.
The Ministry of Commerce (MoC) held an internal meeting to review and collect input on the draft. It was chaired by the ministry’s Secretary of State Reach Ra, who is also deputy chairman of the Cambodian Cashew Policy Joint Working Group. He said that enough cashews are being grown to supply both the domestic and overseas markets and a government-led strategy will help Cambodia’s goal of becoming both a major grower and exporter of the nuts.
“The purpose of the draft national policy is to turn Cambodia into an important producer and supplier of cashew products to serve the local, regional and global markets,” he said.
Cambodia’s cashew plantations cover about 500,000 hectares, with an average yearly yield of 1.5 tonnes per hectare.
The vice-president of the Kampong Thom Branch of the Cambodian Cashew Association told the meeting there has been a steady increase in the amount of land and the number of farmers growing the crop.
“The national cashew policy that the MoC is currently preparing…will contribute a lot to help growers and the market as cashew products continue to grow,” Try Kim Sreang said.
“Because the cashew harvest season is over, only dried cashews are being traded, with prices of those traded in Kampong Thom province at between $1,700 and $1,800 per tonne,” he said.
Cambodian cashew exports were nearly 219,000 tonnes in 2020, according to the Agriculture Ministry, up more than 8 percent from 2019.
Export markets include Vietnam, Japan, Russia, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, France, South Korea, Bangladesh, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Turkey and Laos.
New markets being eyed include Europe, the US, Canada and Australia, where demand is high.
Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50883982/national-cashew-policy-to-expand-capacity-and-exports/