Rice exports grow 3% YoY in 1Q17
/ April 19, 2017
Rice exports grow 3% YoY in 1Q17 Cambodian rice exports grew only 3% YoY in 1Q17
despite double-digit growth in January and February due to a dramatic decline in March.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Cambodia exported a total of 166,678 tonnes in
1Q17, up from 162,220 in 1Q16. While rice exports in January and February surged 11%
and 17% YoY respectively, the weighted average was bogged down by a 16% YoY
decrease for March exports. Hun Lak, vice president of the Cambodia Rice Federation
(CRF), attributed the March decline to stricter sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards
being imposed on shipments to China, Cambodia’s second-largest rice market after the
EU. He said only 26 Cambodian millers have been granted official approval to export to
China with another 55 waiting to be vetted by Chinese inspectors. In addition to the
hurdles of entering the Chinese market, Cambodian millers are also concerned about the
EU’s call to eradicate the use of fungicide Tricyclazole in rice production. (Source: Phnom
Penh Post)
