Cambodia Registers Steady Jasmine Rice Exports to the European Union
Song Saran, president of the Cambodia Rice Federation. Photo from CRF's Facebook page.
- Phoung Vantha
- December 20, 2019 4:31 AM
PHNOM PENH--Song Saran, president of the Cambodia Rice Federation, said Thursday that, unlike white rice that no longer has a market in the European Union (EU), jasmine rice exports have remained stable this year.
"During 11 months in 2019, we exported nearly 18,000 tons [of rice] to the EU: Jasmine rice was nearly 98 percent of this, the rest white rice," he said during a Government Spokesperson's Office press conference on measures to stabilize rice price during harvest.
"Over 10 years—2009 to 2019—Cambodia has exported 4.2 million tons to at least 46 countries around the world," Saran said. In the process, the Cambodia Rice Federation has worked in Cambodia with more than 80 communities, whose harvests generated more than $20 million, he said.
Cambodia now has facilities to store more than one million tons of rice and drying capacity for 26,000 tons per day, Saran added.
Last year, the European Union (EU) ranked as Cambodia’s second-biggest trade partner, accounting for 17.3 percent of the country’s total trade, according to EU data.
The Cambodian rice sector may lose its duty-free export status for the EU early next year. The country faces a suspension of the EU’s Everything But Arms (EBA) trade scheme, which includes duty-free and quota-free market access, for failure to respect human rights and labor rights.
