Fresh banana exports from Cambodia saw a 24.4 per cent drop in the first half of this year compared to 2022, totalling 165,552.92 tons. Spokeswoman Im Rachna from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, attributes the decline in banana exports to market instability, climate change impacts on product quality and unrecorded exports to Vietnam and Thailand.
She urged the private sector to diversify its purchasing partners, increase investment in the agro-industry sector and boost the export of processed products. Rachna disclosed that over 90 per cent of the nation’s fresh bananas are exported to China. The export of bananas and other agricultural products to China has greatly benefited Cambodian farmers and contributed to the sector’s development.
Hun Lak, director of Longmate Agriculture, a company that grows bananas for export to China, felt that 2023 began promisingly for banana exports compared to 2022. He cited China’s reopened markets and increased demand coupled with slightly lower transportation costs as reasons. However, he felt the situation had deteriorated by mid-year. He forecast a more positive outlook for the latter half of the year, predicting that the primary market, China, may see a resurgence in demand as climate change issues are addressed.
Source: phnompenhpost.com
