[PHNOM PENH POST]
Phnom Penh Post reporter Rann Reuy sat down with Chour Chheng, director
of Ky Chheng Protein Foods, to discuss the challenges of opening a
small-to-medium-sized enterprise in Cambodia.
When did you establish this enterprise, and what products do you process?
The
business was established in January, 1999. Initially, we produced only
dry octopus, but later moved on to distribute beef and pork meat. We
also process about five tonnes of mango and papaya each year. All our
products are 100 per cent locally sourced.
What inspired you to undertake this career path?
When
I was younger, my mother made sweets for children in the neighbourhood.
After a couple of years, we worked together and developed packaging for
the confectionary, in order to sell them on the market. Seeing the
success of my product, I was encouraged to go abroad and develop new
techniques in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
Were there many teething problems when the business began, and do you still struggle in any areas of the process?
There
were so many difficulties when we set up the enterprise. Before we
promoted any of our products, we undertook market research to ensure our
products would be a success. We then had to learn the required
techniques to process food to the correct standard, which was not an
easy task. If we are unable to abide by the many regulations regarding
the standard and sanitation of the food, our product will not sell.
Do any government policies benefit SMEs?
The
government has some good policies to support SMEs. It doesn’t provide
direct financial assistance, but smaller enterprises are not required to
pay taxes, which benefits businesses like ours.
Do you plan on exporting any of the products you make?
We
would like to export, but we feel the time isn’t right. Foreign
companies have stricter demands on sanitation standards, which makes it
difficult for Cambodian companies to ship their products to other
countries. We used to participate in international goods expos, but we
are still waiting to receive a standard certificate to export abroad.
No comments:
Post a Comment