The Cambodian Minister of Agriculture met with the China Top Fruit board chair, Zhuang Yizhong, and others on April 25th. They discussed the export of Cambodian mangoes to China.
Meeting room
The main points on the agenda were as follows:
1. Increase the mutual understanding of Xi Jinping's "one belt, one road" policy, as well as the outcome of the 2017 Phnom Penh meeting between China and Cambodia. Top Fruit already acknowledges the product quality of Cambodian mangoes, as well as the market demand in China.
2. Investigate the possibilities of transporting Cambodian mangoes through Vietnam to China, or through Sihanoukville Province to China. Top Fruit has already investigated and evaluated the outcome. The price of mangoes can be decreased five times over, from 500 USD per ton to 100 USD per ton. This could raise the income level of Cambodian farmers.
3. Investigate and evaluate construction sites for infrastructure, sterile packaging factories, methods of refrigerated export, and conforming to Chinese standards. The export volume of Cambodian mangoes to China is estimated at 50 tons per year for the next 5 years.
4. Investigate the acceleration of Cambodia-China mango export negotiations with the Chinese Office for Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine. According to Top Fruit, the regular procedure will take 1-3 years before documents can be signed. That would take too long.
5. Investigate the agreement on cooperation in coordination of purchases of mangoes from farmers, export, and transport to China.
After the meeting, both parties were committed and endorsed the signed document that opens the road for companies to start working.
Source: Phnom Penh Report