Exit

Not too much to report on this time round. 

Though lots on Monsanto slash Bayer. Nothing good for them, but suppose they can't be expecting that either.
Apologies that most of the forthcoming is from the Guardian; it does question whether my sources are balanced. Then again the opposing noises seem all to be hot air and sourced from company guidelines.

First off (Mar 19) with this:

'A federal jury in San Francisco found Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide was a substantial factor in causing the cancer of a California man, in a landmark verdict that could affect hundreds of other cases'.

Then (Mar. 27):

'A federal jury ruled that Monsanto was liable for a California man’s cancer and ordered the Roundup manufacturer to pay $80m in damages.
The ruling on Wednesday, which holds the company responsible for the cancer risks of its popular weedkiller [Roundup], is the first of its kind in US federal court and a major blow to Monsanto and its parent company, Bayer. A representative said Bayer would appeal'.

But more bad news (for Monsanto) was to follow (Mar. 29):

'One of the world’s most common pesticides will soon be banned by the European Union after safety officials reported human health and environmental concerns.
Chlorothalonil, a fungicide that prevents mildew and mould on crops, is the most used pesticide in the UK, applied to millions of hectares of fields, and is the most popular fungicide in the US'.

An opinion. The Guardian (Mar. 30):

'Following the recent courtroom victories, some have cheered the notion that Monsanto is finally being made to pay for alleged wrongdoing. But by selling to Bayer last summer for $63bn just before the Roundup cancer lawsuits started going to trial, Monsanto executives were able to walk away from the legal mess with riches. The Monsanto chairman Hugh Grant’s exit package allowed him to pocket $32m, for instance'.

In relating news (Apr. 8), though not necessarily attributable to either Monsanto or Bayer:

'Pesticides and antibiotics are polluting streams across Europe, a study has found. Scientists say the contamination is dangerous for wildlife and may increase the development of drug-resistant microbes.
More than 100 pesticides and 21 drugs were detected in the 29 waterways analysed in 10 European nations, including the UK. A quarter of the chemicals identified are banned, while half of the streams analysed had at least one pesticide above permitted levels'.

As an avid open and wild swimmer myself, this is particular poor news. Despite the appearances, we seem to encounter less and less natural worlds to enjoy.

Then finally (Apr. 11):

'A French appeals court has said US chemicals giant Monsanto was guilty of poisoning a farmer who said he suffered neurological damage after accidentally inhaling fumes from a weedkiller made by the company.
Paul François, a cereal farmer, had already won previous lawsuits against Monsanto, which was bought by Germany’s Bayer last year, in 2012 and 2015.
He said he fell ill in 2004 after being exposed to Lasso, a weedkiller containing monochlorobenzene that was legal in France until 2007 but had already been banned in 1985 in Canada and in 1992 in Belgium and Britain'.

Bloc(k)
Over to Cambodia

The Khmer Times (Apr. 1) notes:

'Local firms will no longer be charged value-added tax (VAT) on exports of agricultural goods, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced Friday.
The premier said dropping VAT charges on exports of agricultural products – including milled rice, corn, cassava, and pepper – will enhance the competitiveness of the agriculture and export sectors'.

All a no-brainer? Being in the export business myself, it comes as a surprise that VAT would have been charged at all. How on earth will you be competitive?

Concerning competition, the Phnom Penh Post (Apr. 5) looks at the most recent export figures:

'Despite losing its duty-free export status in the EU, the Kingdom’s rice exports saw a six per cent increase in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year, according to figures released by the Secretariat of One Window Service for Rice Export Formality.
Industry insiders said the increase is due to a rise in exports to China which offset the dip in EU sales.
The Secretariat’s report showed that rice exports in the first three months of 2019 reached 170,821 tonnes, a six per cent increase on the 161,115 tonnes exported in the same period last year.
Cambodia Rice Federation vice-president Hun Lak attributed the rise to new quotas implemented by the Chinese government that allowed the importing of up to 400,000 tonnes of tariff-free rice from Cambodia.

Reuters (Apr. 11) seems to know more than the local press on this:

'Cambodia has filed a challenge at the European Court of Justice against the European Union’s decision to impose import duties on Cambodian rice.
The bloc imposed tariffs for three years in January on rice from Cambodia and Myanmar to curb what it said was a surge in imports as a safeguard to protect EU producers such as Italy.
However, the Cambodian Rice Federation said on Thursday the safeguard measure did not relate to any unfair behavior and was based on broad generalizations and the flawed use of data'.

The region also seems very relaxed concerning rice news. Just this snippet from the Bangkok Post (Mar. 30):

'Thai rice exports declined in both volume and value in February, with blame falling on high prices relative to competitors, notably Vietnam, as well as the strong baht. Charoen Laothammatas, president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said on Friday that outbound rice shipments totalled 687,560 tonnes in February, down 27.7% from the same month of last year, with exports worth 11.69 billion baht, down 23.5% year-on-year'. 

Prospects
Heading out of the rice related news, what's more that has drawn my attention and seems worthwhile to share?
Probably the most important news for Khmer ag exports is what Thailand seems to have on line for the smaller kingdoms produce. The Phnom Penh Post (Apr. 3):

'Thailand has put a restriction on agricultural product imports from neighbouring countries.
...
The Thai Department of Agriculture recently issued a notice on Cambodian cassava product imports, which requires all exporters to request import permission from Thailand and ensure the commodities be free of insects and various other organisms.
They must have a phytosanitary certificate and a certificate of origin for transport. The notice states that when the products arrive at the border gate if Thai authorities find a problem, the products will be returned or destroyed on the spot.
Kim Hout, the director of the Battambang provincial Department of Commerce, the province where cassava is mostly grown, on Tuesday said because Cambodia’s cassava is mostly exported to Thailand, there will be an inevitable impact.
However, he said: “As the cassava harvest is nearly finished, it will not seriously affect the farmers and exporters, but it will do so next season.”
According to Hout, about 90 per cent of cassava exports is sent to Thailand'.

More on the same crop and its potential. The Phnom Penh Post (Mar. 20):

'Cambodia produced more that 13 million tonnes of cassava last year, a drop on 2017 despite a six per cent increase in cultivation to 650,510ha nationwide, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
The data shows Cambodia produced 13,750,076 tonnes of cassava last year, a slight decrease from 13,817,262 tonnes in 2017. Cultivation increased six per cent from 612,861ha to 650,510ha.
A ministry official said he expects production to see an increase this year following the construction of a Kratie-based cassava processing factory, scheduled to be completed in May.
Ker Monthivuth, Department of Plant Protection Sanitary and Phytosanitary director under the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said the decrease in yield was due to climate change and pesticide damage'.

Then some features on lesser crops.
The Phnom Penh Post (Mar. 25) has an interview with Soeng Sopha, the general manager of Sela Pepper,

'What challenges do you face?
There are a lot of challenges in this field, such as farm management, technical, pesticide and financial controls, as well as a limited awareness of how to produce quality black pepper.
Farmers’ knowledge on how to manage their farms in a systematic way is in short supply – they merely farm by imitating each other without the proper use of techniques, pesticides, fertilisers and water economisation.
They also face other challenges such as financial limitations – they become disappointed with their farms when they cannot give them high yields, all while market prices are decreasing.
Another challenge we face is limited awareness on the local market of the quality of our black pepper. This makes it difficult for us to obtain support from local consumers and supermarkets.
We are also producers – we face high production costs and the high cost of logistics and importing packaging, which increases the price of our products and makes it hard to compete with local and international markets'.

Then palm sugar. The Phnom Penh Post (Apr. 5):

'Kampong Speu province’s sugar palm was registered as a protected product by the EU on Tuesday, according to a Confirel announcement.
Cambodia initially sent an application to register the name Skor Thnot Kampong Speu as a protected geographical indication (GI) to the European Commission on October 3, 2017, according to the Official Journal of the EU.
Initially scheduled to be registered in April last year, the application faced delays as EU law stipulated that a more refined definition of what constitutes Kampong Speu province sugar palm was required.
This is the second Cambodian GI product after Kampot province pepper was registered in February 2016'.

Finally some nut news from Vietnam. Vietnam plus (Mar. 26):

'Cashew prices are low at present, according to the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas).
The price of fresh cashew nuts has recently stood at just 28,000-30,000 dong ($1.21-$1.29) per kg at farms in Binh Phuoc province and 30,000-32,000 dong for nuts delivered to factories. The price of dried cashews was about 36,000 dong per kg.
In the same period last year, the price was 40,000-42,000 dong per kg for fresh cashews and 50,000 dong per kg for dried cashews'.