FAO Upgrades Prospects for Cambodia’s Rice Output amid ‘Strong Pace’ of Dry-season Plantings
AKP Phnom Penh, April 08, 2023 --

The Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has revised downwards its outlook for global rice output for the 2022-23 season with better prospects for Cambodia offset by lower estimates for Indonesia's harvest.

According to the FAO Cereal Supply and Demand Brief for April released Friday,
world rice production is now pegged at 516 million tonnes for the current season —above average but down 1.6 percent from the record high last season.

“Global rice production figures have undergone a small (0.6 million tonne) downward revision since March, largely due to official lower estimates of the Indonesian harvest concluded last December,” the FAO said.

“This reduction outweighed an upgrade to output prospects for Cambodia, reflecting a strong pace of plantings during the ongoing dry-season cycle.”

WORLD RICE PRICES EASE 3.2 PERCENT

The agency announced separately that world food prices in March, as measured by the FAO Food Price Index, fell 2.1 percent from February and 20.5 percent from a year earlier. The fall from February, the 12th consecutive monthly decline, largely reflected lower prices for cereals and vegetable oils.

The FAO Cereal Price Index fell 5.6 percent from February, with rice prices easing 3.2 percent “amid ongoing or imminent harvests in major exporting countries, including India, Viet Nam and Thailand,” the agency said.

By Sao Da
AKP

World Bank Expects International Rice Prices to Climb 17 pct This Year
AKP Phnom Penh, April 28, 2023 --

The World Bank projects international rice prices to climb 17 percent from a year earlier to US$510 a tonne in 2023, before settling lower at US$490 a tonne next year.

In its annual Commodity Market Outlook released in Washington Thursday, the bank said rice prices had risen 11 percent in the first quarter of this year on the back of strong demand and tight supplies

Strong demand has reflected “major festivals and restocking in Asia” along with currency appreciations against the U.S. dollar in India, Thailand and Vietnam, the bank said.

Tight supplies are meanwhile affecting “most of Asia’s rice producers — including China, India, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam,” it said.

The bank said another factor was "devastated harvests and exports of rice" following floods in Pakistan in September last year.

International rice prices – based on prices for long-grain rice (5 percent broken) in Thailand – averaged US$437 a tonne last year, down from US$458 a tonne in 2021 and US$497 a tonne in 2020.
- AKP

World's largest rice congress to be held in Manila, co-organized by the Philippine Agri Dept and IRRI
Posted on May 15, 2023
The International Rice Congress is held every 4 years and for the first time ever will be held in the Philippines, on October 16-19, 2023, bringing together the latest in rice science and innovations across the globe.
MANILA, Philippines (15, May 2023) – The Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) has pledged support in co-organizing the largest gathering of the stakeholders of rice-based food systems worldwide in the Philippines this coming October with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).

“Rice is one of the priority areas of the Philippine government to achieve food self-sufficiency and improve the lives of Filipino farmers. At IRC 2023, we can learn about recent advancements in genetic, digital, and nature-based solutions, offering valuable insights to address the various challenges faced by the rice industry in the Philippines,” said the DA Undersecretary for Rice Industry Development, Leocadio Sebastian.

Started in 2002, the International Rice Congress (IRC) has served as a platform for scientists, experts, and decision makers from the government, private, and public sector to develop evidence-based solutions to the challenges of the global rice sector. Rice, being the staple food for more than half of the global population, remains a critical commodity for farmers, consumers, and government decision makers.

This year’s IRC will revolve around the theme “Accelerating Transformation of Rice-Based Food Systems: From Gene to Globe” to highlight solutions and innovations that could help address critical issues on agriculture and climate change, food and nutrition security, environmental sustainability, and human and economic development.
https://www.irri.org/news-and-events/ne ... -agri-dept

Rice Firm Collaborates with Dutch Stakeholders for Sustainable Agriculture Development
AKP Phnom Penh, June 01, 2023 --

Rice miller and exporter Amru Rice (Cambodia) Co., Ltd. and buyers, representative from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, development partners, and donors held here earlier this week a discussion on the promotion of organic agriculture, rice and sustainable agriculture practice in Mondulkiri province.

“Through the collaboration project, Amru Rice with the help of the Dutch government and stakeholders will create employment opportunities for farmers in remote areas, provide them access to good value markets from organic farming, and adhere to social and environmental practices that ensure the storage and quality of rice,” the firm said.

Mondulkiri, located in the northeastern region of Cambodia, is known for its rich biodiversity and fertile lands. However, the region faces various challenges that hinder its agricultural potential, including limited access to modern farming practices and insufficient resources for farmers.

In an effort to address these challenges and create a positive impact, this implementation of organic agriculture, especially rice and sustainable agriculture practice will serve as the long-term intervention strategy to tackle this aspect.

Amru Rice and the Dutch stakeholders share a common vision of promoting organic agriculture, especially rice and sustainable agriculture practice that does not only benefit farmers, but also contributes to global food security and environmental conservation.

Amru Rice, with a decade of development in the rice sector as a leading organic rice exporter, has been promoting sustainable and resilient agriculture through its organic farming value chain.

By working with almost 20,000 smallholder farmers to produce organic rice since 2013, the firm has been paving way for farmers to adapt to the eco-friendly rice farming technique without the use of synthetic pesticide and fertiliser.

This approach has not only helped to protect the environment but has also improved livelihoods of farmers.

Cambodia exported 176,581 tonnes of milled rice in the first quarter of 2023, up 3.5 percent from 170,539 tonnes in the same period last year, earning US$126 million in revenue, said the Cambodia Rice Federation’s report.

Exported milled rice varieties included premium aromatic rice, fragrant rice, long grain white rice, parboiled rice, and organic rice, it pointed out.
By Chea Vannak
AKP

Cambodia Officially Launches Rice Export to the Philippines
AKP Phnom Penh, June 27, 2023 --

Cambodia shipped 2,575 tonnes of milled rice to the Philippines in May, the first ever large-scale export to this regional partner.

The official launching ceremony of the Cambodian rice export to the Philippines was held in Phnom Penh on May 26 under the presidency of H.E. Pan Sorasak, Cambodian Minister of Commerce and H.E. Ms. Maria Amelita C. Aquino, Ambassador of the Philippines to Cambodia.

Speaking at the function, The Philippine ambassador praised the growth of rice trade between Cambodia and the Philippines, especially the export of Cambodian rice to the Philippine market which is a long-standing goal of Cambodia.

The first large-scale export was conducted by Khmer Food Group Co., Ltd. with Philippine importers, which showed the potential and readiness of Cambodian rice to other importers, she added.
- AKP

Cambodia’s Milled Rice Export Bags Nearly US$230 Million in H1
Phnom Penh, July 07, 2023 --
Cambodia exported a total of 329,633 tonnes of milled rice in the first semester of this year, earning some US$229 million in revenue, a Cambodia Rice Federation’s report said on Friday.

Exported milled rice varieties included premium aromatic rice, fragrant rice, long grain white rice, parboiled rice, and organic rice, it pointed out.

Cambodian rice has been shipped to 52 countries and regions around the world during the said period.

China remained the top buyer of Cambodia’s milled rice, purchasing 138,364 tonnes or 41 percent of the Kingdom’s total milled rice export, followed by European Union countries and ASEAN members with 122,117 tonnes and 28,110 tonnes, respectively, the report said.

In the first half of 2023, two ASEAN nations – the Philippines and Brunei – imported large amount of Cambodian rice.

During the January-June period, Cambodia also had border-traded paddy rice with neighbouring countries at 2.2 million tonnes, generating a total revenue of about US$578 million.

In 2022, Cambodia exported over 630,000 tonnes of milled rice to 59 countries, earning US$414 million, while the revenue from paddy rice export was around US$841 million.

The Cambodia Rice Federation has set an ambitious goal to export at least a million tonnes of milled rice by 2025.
- AKP

Cambodia says Indonesia to purchase 125,000 tonnes of its milled rice
Thursday, 17 Aug 2023
7:39 PM MYT
PHNOM PENH (Xinhua): Cambodia's Ministry of Commerce said in a news release on Thursday (Aug 17) that Indonesia has agreed to purchase 125,000 tonnes of milled rice from the kingdom.

The news release came after a meeting in Phnom Penh between Cambodia's Minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak and visiting Indonesia's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Pahala Nugraha Mansury on Wednesday.

"As a result of the bilateral meeting, the Indonesian side agreed to buy 125,000 tonnes of milled rice from Cambodia, including 100,000 tonnes of white rice and 25,000 tonnes of premium aromatic rice," the news release said.

It added that the Indonesia Logistics Bureau (Bulog) will work with Cambodia's state-owned Green Trade Company for the export of white rice, while Indonesia's food holding company ID FOOD will work with Cambodia Rice Federation members for the purchase of premium aromatic rice.
- Xinhua

Demand for Organic Rice in Preah Vihear Continues
AKP Phnom Penh August 25, 2023 --
Two companies, Amru Rice (Cambodia) and Golden Rice Cambodia, renewed their contracts on Aug. 24 to buy organic rice from the farming community in Preah Vihear province.

The renewed contracts were signed at Preah Vihear Provincial Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries in the presence of the province's deputy governor H.E. Ouk Kimsan.

Under the contracts, Golden Rice Cambodia will purchase 1,200 tonnes of organic rice from seven farming communities with 1,000 producer families, and Amru Rice (Cambodia) will buy about 1,000 tonnes of rice from four farming communities with 500 producer families.

Oknha Song Saran, General Director of Amru Rice (Cambodia) said 2023 is the ninth year that his company has renewed the purchase contract with Preah Vihear's agricultural communities and that his company is committed to promoting and exporting Preah Vihear organic rice to the world market.

According to Mr. Peung Trida, Director of Preah Vihear Provincial Department of Agriculture, the province's Preah Vihear Meanchey Union of Agricultural Cooperative is Cambodia's first union of its kind, established in April 2016 with 25 farming communities of 5,403 producer families.
- AKP

White Gold: The Commercialisation of Rice Farming in the Lower Mekong Basin
by Rob Cramb

Open Access free download at
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-15-0998-8

Professor Rob Cramb is Honorary Professor at the School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Australia.
This book helps readers understand the processes involved in changing small rice farms in the Lower Mekong Basin from a low-yielding subsistence activity to one producing surpluses needed for national self-sufficiency and high-value export industries.
The Lower Mekong Basin drops 4,500 metres (14,800 ft) before it enters where the borders of Thailand, Laos, China, and Myanmar join in the Golden Triangle.
Downstream from the Golden Triangle, the river flows for 2,600 more kilometers (1,600 miles) through Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia before entering the South China Sea through a complex delta system in Vietnam.
For centuries, farmers in the Basin have considered rice as white gold.

[Cambodian] Rice showcased at German expo
May Kunmakara | Publication date 10 October 2023 | 20:51 ICT
Hopes are high among the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) and leading industry players that the country’s fragrant and organic rice could expand its European market presence, following the Anuga Food Trade Fair 2023 in Cologne, Germany.

CRF president Chan Sokheang, along with the commerce and finance ministries and various development partners, facilitated the participation of eight top rice millers in the October 6-11 event.

“We have eight companies showcasing our milled rice. It’s an important opportunity, with more than 200 countries attending and between 300,000 to 400,000 businesspeople expected at the expo,” he told The Post on October 10.

He noted a high number of potential trading partners at the expo.

“With backing from Khmer Enterprise and the commerce ministry, we anticipate attracting more buyers, and we eagerly await contact in the upcoming months post-expo,” he said.

Song Saran, president and CEO of Amru Rice (Cambodia), a leading rice miller and exporter, told The Post on October 10 that Cambodia had a prime opportunity at the expo to present its high-quality rice to European buyers. These varieties have garnered substantial support in the market.

“We showcased our fragrant rice, including Sen Kra’op 01 and the Phka Rumduol variety, which clinched the World’s Best Rice Award in 2022, to bolster our exports to a promising EU market,” he said.
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/ ... erman-expo