Pailin Longans Boom Times Loom

Pailin longans reached 3,500 riel (about $0.85) per kilogram, up from 2,500 riel ($0.61) in 2021, said Sar Chamroeun of the Pailin Longan Community Council. Photo: Pailin Provincial Department of Agriculture

PHNOM PENH – Pailin longan farmers are hopeful again as prices and markets for the fruit pick up.



The Chinese market is giving new hope after the severe effects of COVID-19 and the loss of the Thai market.



Pailin longans reached 3,500 riel (about $0.85) per kilogram, up from 2,500 riel ($0.61) in 2021, said Sar Chamroeun of the Pailin Longan Community Council.



Prices and markets stabilized after approval to export to China last year.



Over the next year, the price is expected to exceed 5,000 riel per kilogram. The increase is due to the opening of Chinese markets before the next season. In Pailin province, two Chinese companies are buying fresh longans from farmers.



“I think the farmers can make profits now out of the current price. The companies have already opened the market this year, so Pailin longan might reach 5,500 riel ($1.34) per kilogram for the next harvest season,” Chamroeun said.



The longans that are exported to China require good agriculture practices in accordance with safety and technical standards.



Yeung Bunthoeun, the owner of a 10-hectare farm in Kam Rieng district, Battambang province, said the price and markets for longans were better because the pandemic situation had improved and China’s market was now open.



Previously, the farmer made a big loss due to the market the  closure anymore because Pailin longan can be supplied domestically and will be exported to China as well as to Thailand, even if the latter is illegally.



Bunthoeun has harvested half his farm so far. He said he could get 100 tonnes of longan from the 10 hectares. He is hoping for a price of 4-5000 riel per kilogram in March because the dry season has arrived, which brings more costs.



“The price reached over 3,000 riel this year. We can make profits now as the price is better, and so is the market, because the markets are open and approved, including that in China, Thailand and Cambodia. Basically, it’s all good,” he said.



Pailin longans are among industrial agriculture products with potential for export to international markets, especially China, in both fresh and dried forms. Currently, 74 farms have registered and have Chinese customs permission to export fresh longan to Chinese markets.



In 2022, Cambodia exported 3,155 tonnes of Pailin longans to international markets, among which 2,942 tonnes were exported to China and 212 tonnes to Vietnam.



In 2021, the land for the Pailin longan farming covered 12,837 hectares in Cambodia, and around 10,500 hectares for the harvest land on which 121,500 tonnes of longan can be produced per year.



 


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