[PHNOM PENH POST]
Cambodia's milled rice exports increased by more than seven per cent
year-on-year during the first 10 months of 2011, while international
demand for the grain drove up rice prices by nearly 200 per cent,
commerce officials said.
The Kingdom exported more than 136,000
tonnes of milled rice between January and October, nearly 9,300 tonnes
more than the same period in 2010, according to data from the Ministry
of Commerce.
Rising international demand has seen the value of
Cambodia’s milled rice exports climb by nearly 200 per cent, Kong
Putheara, director of statistics and information at the Ministry of
Commerce, said yesterday.
Milled rice exports during the first
10 months of the year were valued at US$78.18 million, up from $26.11
million during the same period in 2010, ministry data showed. Kong
Putheara said the majority of Cambodia’s milled rice exports went to the
European Union, United States, Korea, Japan and other ASEAN countries.
The
Cambodian government plans to export one million tonnes of milled rice
by 2015, although critics such as the World Bank have said a lack of
milling capacity, among several other infrastructure problems, could
hold exports to a mere quarter of the quota.
Floods which hit
the country in early September have affected the country’s rice export
potential, Kong Putheara added, but receding waters in the heaviest hit
provinces will soon allow for paddy planting.
Kim Savuth, general
director for Khmer Food Company, said his company’s rice exports
increased by about 300 per cent by mid November compared to the same
period last year. He attributed the increase to a decrease in
corruption.
“The increase in exports was because the government
put pressure on those officials who took illegal road fees from rice
traders,” Kim Savuth said, adding that it was common for officials to
set up unauthorised traffic stops on rice-transport routes.
No comments:
Post a Comment