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Chasing China’s rice import potential

CHINA National Cereal, Oil and Foodstuffs Corporation (COFCO) are the latest Mainland Chinese Company to sign a deal to export Cambodian rice. The deal inked with Cambodia’s Angkor Rice provides for exports of 1,000 tonnes of rice. COFCO is one of a number of Chinese companies that have signed similar deals with their Cambodian counterparts, but direct rice exports to China are yet to begin in earnest. Cambodia’s rice exports are awaiting approval from Chinese inspectors, experts say. A protocol signed between the two countries in October last year states that rice samples must be free of agricultural pests that experts say are endemic in Cambodian rice fields.

“The Chinese are very strict on quality,” Phou Puy, president of the Federation of Rice Millers Associations and the Baitong Rice Export Company, said. “So far, we haven't received any updated information on the inspections from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. But I know their delegation will come to test our quality soon.” Baitong Rice Export, which signed a MoU with a Chinese company late last year, plans to export 10,000 tonnes of rice a year to China, beginning next year. Phou Puy said certification from the People’s Republic was not far off.

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Carting off the cassava

A truck laden with cassava sits outside a warehouse in Kampong Cham province. China National Food Industry Group yesterday signed an agreement with Cambodian agricultural firm Ly Ye Rubber Company, aiming to import large quantities of cassava from Cambodia. Cai Yong Feng, chairman of the Chinese firm, said cassava is a quickly expanding industry in Cambodia. 'If the dry cassava from Cambodia has high enough quality standards for the Chinese market then we will buy other products,' he said.

Source : The Phnom Penh Post

Rubber prices grow

CAMBODIAN rubber prices have increased about five per cent over the past year, according to Cambodian  Rubber Association president Mak Kim Hong. Top-quality rubber sold for US$4,700 a tonne at the weekend, compared with $4,475 a tonne at this time last year.  “Now there’s high demand for rubber on the international market, especially from China.  We mostly export our rubber to China,” Mak Kim Hong said. “This is the time to invest more in the sector.” Mak Kim Hong, who is also the director-general of Chub Rubber Plantation, said his company aimed to export about 10,000 tonnes of rubber to China this year.

Source : The Phnom Penh Post

Weaving mats for Vietnam

KIM Sreng is in quality control. Sitting on the floor at the rear of a restaurant in the village of Anlong, the part-time mat maker has a huge pile of grass reeds in front of her. Weeding out the broken and blackened ones, she places the chosen ones into small bundles ready for tying. “I am selecting the best quality reeds which we will export to Vietnam,” she says. Her employer, Chin Khom, explains that his Vietnamese buyers require only the best quality reeds to create mats, which are then exported to South Korea. Cambodians can use discoloured reeds as the mats are then dyed, unlike those destined for Korea.

Although she has weaved mats since she was 15 or 16 years old, for Kim Sreng, now 30, sorting the wheat from the chaff is a relatively recent departure for her. “I have only done this work for three years,” she says. “I used to weave for the owner [Chin Khom’s wife], but when she started to buy reeds I did this work.” Working eight hours each day, Kim Sreng earns only 7,000 riel, so she supplements her income by weaving mats for other employers as well as doing farm work. “I do not have a day off,” she laughs. Today is Sunday.

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Malaysian firm eyes Mondulkiri rubber

BURSA   Malaysia-listed BP Plastics Holdings Bhd expects to receive approval soon to start a rubber plantation in Mondulkiri province, according to media reports. Chairman and Managing Director Lim Chun Yow said the application was “progressing well” and the company would make the necessary announcement once it received the green light, Malaysian newspaper The Star reported yesterday.

In its annual report released last month, the firm said it aimed to diversify into rubber cultivation to deliver sustainable returns to shareholders. “The decision to select Cambodia for rubber cultivation is due to the availability of arable land, costs consideration and outlook for natural rubber demand for the next few decades,” the report said.

BP Plastics could not be reached for comment by The Post yesterday. Meanwhile, rubber prices have increased substantially in the last year. Rubber closed at 15,980 ringgit (US$5315.15) per tone yesterday, from some 11,855 ringgits from June 2010, according to data for the highest listed grade from the Malaysian Rubber Board.

Source : The Phnom Penh Post