Three months after the signing of the ‘rice export deal’ between Cambodia and Indonesia, the first shipment of Cambodian rice reached the Indonesian port last week.

This was announced on the Facebook page of Prime Minister Hun Manet. The post also praised efforts of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Commerce, the Rice Federation of Cambodia as well as the private sector and farmers. The first shipment of the commodity arrived in Semarang City of Indonesia’s Central Java Province on Thursday.

“The efforts are in line with the Phase I of Pentagonal Strategy, which is being implemented by the National Government. There is absolute emphasis on strengthening the agricultural sector, supporting rural development, increasing food security and boosting agricultural value chains,” the Facebook post said.

Over 3,500 tonnes of Cambodian white rice constituted the first shipment. As per the rice deal between both nations, Indonesia has agreed to purchase 125,000 tonnes of milled rice from Cambodia.

Khmer Times earlier reported that Perusahaan Perdagangan Indonesia (PPI), one of the region’s leading trading companies with an active interest in the sale of agricultural and food products across the global markets, is planning to import rice from the Kingdom in the near future.

Speaking to Khmer Times, Arsyad Pahlevi, Export and Third Party Trading Manager at PPI, said the company is keen on expanding its cooperation and business ties with Cambodia’s agricultural sector. “We are currently looking at importing rice from the Kingdom. It could be Jasmine as well as non-Jasmine, but fragrant. We aim to import white rice that could be mixed with our existing stocks.

“We are looking at selling the premium Cambodian rice, which will be pure in nature while we also have the objective of mixing Cambodian rice with local rice varieties to explore market opportunities in the segment.”

Arsyad Pahlevi said that away from the rice factor, importing Cambodian spices is also on the cards. “We have black pepper in Indonesia, but we have international offices, where we can sell the varieties of Cambodian pepper. PPI’s agricultural ties with Cambodia will not just be for the Indonesian markets but also for the global markets, where we have our strong presence.”

Dr Cheang Hong, Dean, Faculty of Agriculture at Royal University of Agriculture Phnom Penh, told Khmer Times that the Kingdom must focus on two areas to further boost the rice sector – continuous research for high-yield varieties along with discovering new markets for exports.

“The Kingdom must focus on joint research with many countries to create high-yield varieties. And it’s high time Cambodia look for new markets as emerging economies hold the key for the future, especially those in Latin America, Africa and Asia.

“While all major rice exporting nations focus on winning the market share in well-developed markets, Cambodia must equally focus on emerging markets, where Cambodian rice could be

branded, comparatively with lesser efforts.