A farmer works in a paddy field outside Phnom Penh, Cambodia. (Photo: Reuters) Hanoi (VNA) – The Cambodian government will join hands with businesses to build rice storehouses with dryers, with an expected capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per day.
Director of the Rural Development Bank Kao Thach said that the government intends to borrow money mainly from China to implement the 300 million USD project, which will be completed in 2017.
He attributed the lack of rice storehouses and dryers to falling domestic rice prices over the past time, citing that the current capacity of factories is only 400-900 tonnes per day.
Secretariat Coordinator of the Coalition of Cambodia Farmer Community Theng Savoeun stated it is an efficient measure to raise the value of rice. He suggested the government increase budget for agriculture and expand the market for farming products.
On September 16, the Cambodian government provided a special bailout of 27 million USD to buy paddy from farmers, helping stabilise the market amidst the sharply declining rice prices.
Cambodia currently has five rice storehouses.-VNA
