Preface

The COVID-19 pandemic has been rapidly evolving since the beginning of 2020. On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) categorized it as a global pandemic. This pandemic has had a major impact on the global economy. Trade and travel have been severely restricted and many countries, including Cambodia and others across Asia, have instituted measures to contain the spread. Since April 2021, Cambodia has implemented a series of lockdowns in partial and/or whole provinces to contain the February 2021 community outbreak. The government officially ended this outbreak event in December 2021, however there is increasing concern over the new COVID-19 variant Omicron. In order to understand if and how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted food availability and access at markets in Cambodia, the World Food Programme (WFP) monitors the retail and wholesale prices of key food commodities (see Annex 1 and 2) in 45 urban and rural markets across the country (see Methods section for more details). An average of 340 traders and market chiefs are called every two weeks using a call center contracted by WFP. In addition to prices, market chiefs are also interviewed to assess market functionality, including supply and demand issues.

Additional information is used to interpret the results and understand the broader context. This update is based on market data collected in the first and third weeks of the month. Nominal prices are presented in this report. This system is based on long-term cooperation between WFP and the Agricultural Marketing Office (AMO), Department of Planning and Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF).

Content

1. Key findings

2. Results

Market functionality

National: Price trends of mixed rice, duck egg, and morning glory

National: Price trends of snakehead fish, pork, and vegetable oil

National: Cost of a balanced food basket

Sub-national: Price differences and changes in urban and rural areas

Sub-national: Price variation for mixed rice and duck eggs

Sub-national: Price variation for snakehead fish and vegetable oil

1. Context

Trade and local production

Policy response

4. Methods and market locations

5. Annex 1

Changes in retail prices

6. Annex 2

Changes in wholesale prices

7. Annex 3

Cost of a balanced food basket

8. Annex 4

Population distribution, paddy cultivation areas, and  seasonal calendar