Cambodia has now exported its first batch of fresh mangoes to China this week. The agreement was made between the two countries back in June when it was decided that Cambodia could export around 500,000 tonnes of high quality mangos per year.
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) Veng Sakhon, stated that the first batch of fresh mangoes was exported to China by Cambodia Hongtai Company.
“The first batch of containers of fresh mangoes has departed from Cambodia on the December 2 and will be shipped to China via Vietnam.”
He said that the company will conduct trial shipments of mangoes to the Chinese market, and then the company will move to larger quantities. Veng Sakhon said that because he is optimistic about the future development potential of Cambodia’s agricultural sector, Hongtai has invested heavily in the construction of an agricultural industry chain in Cambodia as early as 2017.
China is the world’s second biggest economy and looks to expand the Kingdom’s agricultural product exports to foreign markets boosting the agricultural sector of Cambodia. The country can produce about 1.89 million tonnes of fresh mangoes a year and other main markets for Cambodian mangos are Thailand, Vietnam, France, Russia, and South Korea.
Ngin Chhay, the director-general of the ministry’s General Department of Agriculture previously said that although China has officially allowed Cambodia to export fresh mangoes to the country, it will take time for a consistent market to develop. He said only good-quality properly-packaged fresh mangoes which adhere to China’s standards would be accepted for export.
Source: Khmer Times