Holidays slash Cambodia’s agriculture exports: Minister

Cambodian rice being prepared for export (Source: www.khmertimeskh.com)

Phnom Penh (VNA) – Various holidays in the last two months prompted a decline in Cambodia’s exports of agricultural produce within the last two months, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Veng Sakhon has said.

He made the remark while speaking to about 100 farmers and exporters during a recent contract-farming signing ceremony in Phnom Penh.

Rice exports for August and September fell nearly 30 percent each month, he said, explaining that Cambodian ports and customs are closed during holidays while other countries do not close theirs and imports and exports carry on as normal.

In August, Cambodia had a one-week holiday, a substitute for the postponed Khmer New Year break in April, which the government cancelled in an attempt to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The country had another three days of holiday for its traditional Pchum Ben ceremony in September. Later this month, Cambodia will celebrate four more days of holiday for the annual water festival and the memorial day of the late King Norodom Sihanouk.

The Cambodian government reduced the number of public holidays to 22 days starting from 2020 from 28 days last year.

Public holidays in Vietnam for 2020 stand at 12 while there are 18 in Thailand. Meanwhile, Indonesia has 20, Malaysia has 20, Myanmar has 26, the Philippines has 18, and Singapore has 11./.