said Tuesday that Cambodia would not be selling rice this year to the
Philippines, the world's biggest importer, despite the country's high
demand for the crop following recent storms, because Vietnam had already
sewn up agreements with Manila.
Phou Puy told the Post on Tuesday that he had contacted the Philippine
government regarding the issue in an attempt to persuade the country to
buy rice from Cambodia.
"We really want to sell rice to the Philippines, but we will be able to
do so next year … not this year," he said, adding that Cambodia was
looking to supply 500,000 tonnes per year in future to its fellow ASEAN
member.
Bloomberg reported Tuesday that Hanoi expected to start signing
rice-export contracts with Manila from the end of this month, earlier
than usual this year due to storms and flooding that have hit the
archipelago in recent weeks. Vietnam was due to export about 250,000
tonnes to the Philippines, the report added.
Thun Vireak, director general of rice exporter Green Trade, said Tuesday
that Vietnam remains the biggest obstacle to the Kingdom's selling rice
to the Philippines.
"We have been trying to export Cambodian rice to the Philippines, but we
have still not succeeded," he said.
Meanwhile, the Kampong Cham branch of the rice millers association said
Tuesday that it planned to build a US$1 million rice mill to dry, mill
and polish rice for export. Local association President Suor Kheang said
half of the cost would be financed by members and the rest by a loan
from the Rural Development Bank.
The operation would include a storehouse in the province's Batheay
district, a $60,000 drying machine to be imported from Taiwan, a
$400,000 polishing machine from Vietnam and a $80,000 miller, also
imported from Vietnam.
The mill, which will be capable of processing 10 tonnes of
export-quality rice per hour, is expected to be running by January, Suor
Kheang said.
The storehouse, which is under construction, will be able to hold 8,000
tonnes of milled rice or paddy. Suor Kheang said the association was
still awaiting delivery of the machines.
Rural Development Bank Chairman Sun Kunthor said the bank had lent $18
million to local miller associations this year to buy rice and build
small and medium-size millers.
"We are ready to provide loans to support associations in various
provinces who wish to build mills and buy paddy to produce quality rice
to export," he said.
Cambodia, which produces around 7 million tonnes of paddy every year,
has only limited rice exports due to a lack of milling capacity.
Earlier this month, the NCRMA said it had missed its deadline for
delivery of a shipment of jasmine rice to Hong Kong that had been billed
as a milestone for the sector's export hopes.
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