BANGKOK: As incomes rise in Cambodia, consumers are looking to purchase more high quality and organic produce, hence Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce has urged the country’s farm products and agricultural machinery manufacturers to look to Cambodia for export opportunities. According to The Nation, the Thai Trade Centre in Phnom Penh reported to the Ministry of Commerce that due to rising production costs, falling output and the reeling drought in Cambodia, farm producers now had to import agricultural products from neighboring countries.
Also due to rising incomes in Cambodia, the Thai minister said, Cambodians had become more health conscious and wanted to consume more healthy products – especially organic vegetables and fruits. “This opens a good opportunity for Thai companies in the health-product sector to expand into Cambodia,” said the news report.
Khan Samban, director of the Agro-Industry Department in Cambodia’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, told Khmer Times that he welcomed Thailand’s decision to expand their agribusiness to also include organic products. “Due to the surging demand of organic products in the country, they can invest here as well as help farmers produce more organic products to supply to the market,” said Mr. Samban.
Research conducted by the Center for Policy Studies’ program shows that 200 to 400 tons of vegetables are imported daily from neighboring countries. The research found that between $150 million and $250 million is spent annually on vegetable imports from Vietnam, Thailand and China.
