Milling Shortfall Hits Prey Veng Rice Exports
Provincial Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries director Ouk Samnang spoke of problems arising from there being only six rice mills. Photo: Prey Veng Administration
- By Uth Raksmey
- and Te Chhaysinh
- March 24, 2023 4:20 PM
PHNOM PENH – Prey Veng, the leading rice producer in Cambodia, is unable to export enough rice because of a shortage of rice millers.
Provincial Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries director Ouk Samnang spoke of problems arising from there being only six rice mills.
“Although we have a large output and some infrastructure has been built, we still face marketing and rice processing issues,” said Samnang, at a press conference on the success in five years of Prey Veng province.
“It is impossible for local buyers to buy all the paddy rice from the farmers, thus our paddy rice sells directly to many neighboring countries each year.
“We try to find investors and partners to invest in rice milling and warehouse infrastructure to increase the value of the rice.
“There is not such a big issue regarding the market because we can sell to the neighboring country.”
The province has about 337,000 hectares of agricultural land and about 78% of the population is engaged in agriculture.
Samnang says the province can produce 1.5 to 1.6 million tonnes of paddy rice annually, including varieties like Romduol jasmine and Sen Kra Ob.
From 2018 to 2022, the province produced more than 7.46 million tonnes of rice and earned $1,250 million.
The government has set a target of exporting a million tonnes of rice annually but a lack of rice millers, grain dryers and capital means the goal has not been reached.
