Cambodia’s rice exporters are attempting to build partnerships with the United States and the Republic of Korea in a bid to sell more of their rice in these markets.

Speaking at a recent workshop in Phnom Penh, Song Saran, CEO of Amru Rice Cambodia, one of the country’s largest exporters, affirmed that his company is going to the US because it is a great potential market for Cambodia .

Data released by the Cambodian Government indicates that the US is still a new market for Cambodia’s rice.

Of the 379,000 tonnes of rice exported in 2013, just 1,780 tonnes went to the US, making Cambodia the 26 th biggest exporter of rice to the country.

Amru Rice Cambodia also signed a rice export agreement last month with the RoK’s Hanwha Corporation.
According to Saran, Hanwha will put in an initial investment of 2 million USD to ensure that nearly 5,000 tonnes of Cambodia’s jasmine rice will be sent to the RoK, a market traditionally dominated by Thai, US and Chinese exporters.

Hanwha will also consider furthering its business in the Cambodian rice industry, said Park Jae-hong, CEO of the corporation.

Last year, Cambodia shipped abroad almost 379,000 tonnes of rice, up 84 percent over the previous year. Of the volume, 51,000 tonnes was exported by Amru Rice Cambodia, turning it into the second-largest of the 84 exporters in the country.-VNA