Lift

Ranking the rice news. 

Possibly the most important (?), the Phnom Penh Post (May 17) carries this government announcement:

'The Cambodian government has decided to lift the ban on the export of paddy, white rice and fish to international markets starting on May 20'.

In spite of the ban, Khmer Times (Jun. 11) notes:

'Nearly 1 million tonnes of rice paddy were exported from Cambodia to Vietnam from January to June this year, with exporters claiming that the COVID-19 virus will not affect the Kingdom’s rice export industry'.

A day later (Jun. 12) the Khmer Times possibly deliriously announces:

'The Minister of Agriculture has claimed that the Kingdom’s milled rice exports to the international market are expected to reach 1 million tonnes this year, the amount set by the government five years ago, However, rice exporters said the country will take at least two years more to meet that amount'.

The Phnom Penh Post (May 31) earlier did the sums and also concluded that the exports will be up due to the Covid-19 global pandemic:

'Cambodian milled-rice exports to the international market in the first five months of this year skyrocketed 42 per cent to 356,097 tonnes from 250,172 tonnes during the same period last year, said a report from the Secretariat of One Window Service for Rice Export Formality.
The European market accounted for 122,010 tonnes, up 51.10 per cent year-on-year from 80,749 tonnes, the Chinese market 136,825 tonnes, up 25.26 per cent, ASEAN countries 45,825 tonnes, up 45.39 per cent, and other destinations 51,437 tonnes, up 79.40 per cent.
Fragrant rice accounted for 289,287 tonnes, or 81.24 per cent, white long-grain rice 62,779 tonnes and long-grain parboiled rice 4,031 tonnes.
In May alone, rice exports reached 55,845 tonnes, an increase of 53.38 per cent compared to May last year, of which 51,683 tonnes was fragrant rice, 3,578 tonnes was white long-grain rice and 584 tonnes was long-grain parboiled rice'.

In the margins, the Phnom Penh Post (Jun. 17) highlights exchange possibilities:

'Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) vice-president Chan Sokheang plans to negotiate with his Chinese counterpart for cash-settlements in riel and yuan currencies for exports of milled rice.
The move is intended to facilitate payments and boost exports.
Sokheang told The Post on Tuesday that since exports to China have sharply increased in recent years, it is important that the CRF and its members work with the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), the central bank, to facilitate payments in the local currencies.
“All members agreed to request that the NBC coordinate cash settlements in riel and yuan,” said Sokheang.
“We typically buy paddy in the local currency and then we export in US dollars, which requires us to exchange yuan to US dollars and US dollars to yuan and then into riel. This makes both sides lose money on the exchange rate.”
He said time and money would be saved if payments could be made directly in yuan via banks in China and Chinese-owned banks in the Kingdom'.

Other maginal news. Phnom Penh Post (May 20):

'The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries signed an agreement on Wednesday with the Philippine-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) with the goal of improving the rice sector by enhancing the analysis, productivity and resilience of value-chain networks.
The agreement was signed by Minister Veng Sakhon and IRRI regional representative for Southeast Asia Dr Yurdi Yasmi'.

Waste

In the other-than-rice news, let's start with a broader issue, that of processing. The Phnom Penh Post (Jun. 8):

'Agro-processing is the future of Cambodia’s agricultural industry. In recent months, Prime Minister Hun Sen has called on local and foreign investors to inject more funding into the sector, and researchers from institutions like the World Bank agree. Increasing Cambodia’s agro-processing capacity has the potential to enhance agricultural and socioeconomic development significantly.
But at the moment, Cambodia is wasting this potential.
Agro-processing, which links the agricultural and manufacturing sectors, takes raw and intermediate materials – including crops, livestock, fish and forest materials – and turns them into finished, marketable products.
For example, Cambodia exports rice to the international market. But other, potentially even more profitable, opportunities exist. Cambodia could add value by processing its rice into other products like sake, vinegar, noodles, bread, or milk'.

On the crops themselves, the Phnom Penh Post (Jun. 8) kicks off with corn:

'The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has announced that exports of corn used for livestock feed have declined sharply over the last few years, while production and domestic demand have risen.
Minister Veng Sakhon said corn exports reached 35,636 tonnes during the first five months of the year, down 29.68 per cent from the same period last year when 50,679 tonnes were exported.
In 2019, corn exports reached 119,993 tonnes and in 2018, 204,184 tonnes were exported.
He said despite the decline in international demand, the production of Cambodian corn has steadily increased over the last four years.
Farmers’ corn production surpassed 1.11 million tonnes in 2019, up from 333,058 tonnes in 2016'.

Then the Khmer Times (Jun. 8) on chillies:

'Cambodia exported more than 30,000 tonnes of fresh chilis during the past five months of the year to Thailand, the Agriculture Ministry reported.
...
However, exports of corn saw a significant decrease to the international market, from 204,184 tonnes 2018 to 119,993 tonnes of corn last year. In the last five months, the country shipped 35,636 tonnes of corn, down 29 per cent over the corresponding period last year. The commodity fetched on average 2,600 riels ($0.63) per kilogramme as of last week.
The ministry added that the decrease in corn exports is not a problem for farmers: It is because the food has a high demand in the local market'.

Stoned

Fruity news a-z (and some nuts/others). 

B for banana's. The Khmer Times (Jun. 4):

'During the first five months of 2020, Cambodia exported 22,762 tonnes of yellow bananas, wherein 14,414 tonnes to Vietnam and 8,348 others to China'.

The Khmer Times (Jun. 16) on cashews:

'The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has urged a company that has been farming cashew nut trees in Siem Reap, to invest in a processing factory because the government is considering establishing a cashew nut research centre.
The call was made during a meeting between Minister Veng Sakhon and the president of Sophorn Theary Peanich Co Ltd Siek Piseth yesterday in Siem Reap province.
Sophorn Theary Peanich Co Ltd, which was granted an economic land concession (ELC) of 4,000 hectares in Chong Spean village, Khvav commune, Chi Kraeng district, Siem Reap province, in 2006, said it would implement a contract with the Ministry of Agriculture in 2017 to grow cashew nut trees on a 1,232-hectare plantation.
...
Piseth said tha the company has already completed growing on 1,030 hectares, providing more than 500 kilogrammes a year in output per hectare on average. He said last year, the company collected more 250 tonnes of cashew nuts'.

 Phnom Penh Post (May 25):

'Cambodia expects exports of longan (Dimocarpus longan) from Pailin province to the international market, especially direct exports to China, to pick up once the once the Covid-19 outbreak tapers, provincial governor Thou Phea told The Post on Monday.
...
Pailin longan is currently priced at around 5,000 riel ($1.25) per kg, down from last year
...
Pailin provincial Department of Agriculture director Say Sophat said an expanded cultivation area had led to a slight increase in longan yields this year compared to last year, despite unfavourable weather'.

Mmmm for mangoes. The Phnom Penh Post (Jun. 9) on celebratory news:

'Cambodia reached an official agreement with China on Tuesday to export fresh mangoes in a milestone decision which will open a giant new market for local producers.
The Chinese government officially approved the export of 500,000 tonnes of Cambodian fresh mangoes per year to the country, where total demand for mangoes stands at about eight million tonnes per year, said the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
...
As of Friday, 20 companies and plantation owners have submitted applications for mango orchards and packaging locations to participate in the new wave of fresh mango exports to China, department data show. The total land area listed in the applications covers 21,286ha.
In January, Cambodia and South Korea signed an agreement to allow Cambodia to export mangoes directly through Hyundai Mao Legacy.
The Kingdom exported 44,099 tonnes of fresh mangoes during the first five months of this year, an increase of around 14,885 tonnes or 50.96 per cent compared to the same period last year, ministry data show.
Last year, it exported 58,162 tonnes of fresh mangoes to six markets – Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, France, Russia and Hong Kong'.

The  Khmer Times (Jun. 16) is less optimistic:

'Cambodia wants China to have a full fruit package deal in negotiations concerning sanitary and phytosanitary issues to export agricultural products to the Chinese market. However, this is unlikely to happen.
...
From now on, Cambodia is able to export mangoes to China, but only Hyundai Agro Co can ship them because this company has already installed the necessary vapour heat treatment and hot water treatments, ensuring pests on the fruits are killed and cleaned. No other companies in Cambodia have yet done this, Minister Sakhon noted'.

Earlier it had added a bit of context.  Khmer Times (Jun. 10):

'Cambodia’s Agriculture Minister is urging the private sector to invest in vapour heat treatment (VHT) – a steam treatment facility – packaging and cold warehouse facilities for mango production in order to allow more of the valuable fruit to be certified for export to China.
...
Mango exports can make $1,000 between $1,500 a tonne depending on quality and preference.
...
Chang Hoon Lee, managing director of Hyundai Agro, since his company has already installed the VHT, and HWT, the company will export 40 tonnes a day for first 200 days, 10,000 tonnes for the second year, and 20,000 tonnes for the third year.
“This is our target. We already have many partners in China and they are waiting for Cambodia mangoes,” he added. “We have to understand that Chinese is a big market, but it is also very a difficult market,” Hoon Lee added.
...
Another investor, Hun Lak, Longmate Agriculture director, sais in order to export mangoes to China, we have to think of our soil, growing techniques, fertilisers, packaging, and storage. He said that he has 700 hectares of mangoes and will manage about 20 to 30 percent among 700 hectares for exporting to China. The rest he will process as jam and puree locally.
“One hectare of mangoes can yield around 15-20 tonnes of the fruit. We expect to export about 20 to 30 percent of the 700 hectares in 2020-2021,” Lak added'.

Then pepper.  Phnom Penh Post (Jun. 11):

'Orders for the world-famous Kampot pepper are recovering as Europe’s market demand surges following coronavirus restriction measures.
Kampot Pepper Promotion Association (KPPA) president Nguon Lay told The Post on Thursday that the association’s members had gradually begun ordering the commodity, albeit in small quantities, reflecting a market rebound.
Earlier this year there were no orders at all, he said.
He added that local companies have ordered more than three tonnes of Kampot pepper and he hopes to see more orders'.

Challenge
Then we are near the end.  

Eco-business (Jun. 11) notes how land rights and rubber growing are not synomynous in a positive sense:

'When the indigenous Kreung and Kachok communities locked down their villages in Cambodia’s Ratanakiri province in March to keep safe from the novel coronavirus, no one knew change was afoot in their ancestral forest.
While the families in the Muoy, Inn, Mas and Kak villages were sheltering in place, Vietnamese rubber giant Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) bulldozed land earmarked for return to the communities after years of tough negotiations involving local authorities, the company, village representatives and rights groups, according to Cambodian non-governmental organisation Equitable Cambodia.
In March last year, Ratanakiri’s governor requested that the Cambodian agriculture ministry return 742 hectares of customary land wrongly included in HAGL’s agricultural land concessions to 12 communities following a government-led demarcation process launched two years ago.
HAGL, however, challenged the appeal, arguing that 150 hectares of the designated area had already been cleared and planted and should remain within its concession.
As the pandemic delayed the ministry’s decision, the firm razed another 45 hectares of indigenous territory, laying waste to two spirit mountains, wetlands, old-growth forest as well as traditional hunting areas and burial grounds of spiritual value to the villagers'. 

Phnom Penh Post (Jun. 2) on other less positive news:

'BirdLife International Cambodia has called on people living near wildlife sanctuaries to stop using pesticides to assist in the protection and conservation of wildlife, biodiversity and natural resources in the country.
The call comes after research patrols in some wildlife sanctuaries and protected landscapes in northeastern and southwestern Cambodia recently discovered a case of pesticides being used to illegally catch wildlife.
BirdLife programme manager Bou Vorsak said: “The use of pesticides in wildlife sanctuaries and protected landscapes causes catastrophic damage to wildlife, biodiversity, natural resources and the environment'.

Challenge

With the new year starting, there are a couple of articles looking at the year past and trying to see what the future could bring.

Khmer Times (Jan. 3) provides an excellent review of last year and future prospects. In short: the sector has lost track, production was slightly off, while growth in trade was non-existent. Possibly as China becomes the new market leader for rice exports, the market might see an upswing. Positive mentions also to organics:

'Cambodia’s rice sector is faced with the challenge of strengthening the quality of its fragrant rice, said Song Saran, president of the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF), the recently appointed head of the milled rice export promotion body. “We have to compete,” he says. “The issues we can see include climate change, lack of pure rice seeds and sometimes lack of capital to buy paddy rice,” Mr Saran said.
Cambodia experienced a decline in milled rice exports to the EU this year because of tariff duties imposed by the European Union on Cambodia’s white Indica rice. However, the loss from the EU bloc, the biggest market for the country’s milled rice, has been replaced with increasing export to China and other new markets.
...
Cambodia shipped 174,397 tonnes of rice to the European market during the period, down 26 percent, the report read.
On the other hand, Cambodia exported 205,358 tonnes of milled rice to China during the first 11 months of 2019, up 34 percent over the same period last year, according to the report.
...
Cambodia has a quota of 400,000 tonnes that China allows Cambodia to export. According to the CRF, the quota will be implemented from early 2020.
Last week, the Chinese government allowed 18 new local rice millers to export to China, increasing the number to 44 rice millers exporting to China.
Cooperation with China is good, enabling export amounts to increases by 34 percent as of November 2019 compared with the same period last year, Mr Saran said, adding that almost of 80 percent rice export to China is fragrant rice.
Cambodia’s rice ranks fourth among rice exporters to China out of 12 countries, according to Saran.
...
Soeun, from Ministry of Agriculture, said that the ministry is preparing a policy for organic agricultural practices. We are applying the organic standard of Cambodia,” he says.“Cambodia’s organic rice ranks fifth in the EU and we are committed to competing to become number two or number three there,” Mr Saran said.
For Saran, although facing a number of issues that need to be addressed and enhanced, Cambodia’s ambition of exporting 1 million tons of milled rice would be within reach.
“We designate fragrant rice for promoting exports, which we register under the trademark Malys Angkor. Our rice is quality – our fragrant rice has won the world’s best rice award four times,” Saran said'.

Another attempt is made by Asia Times (Jan.) which sets the tone thus:

'Cambodia’s beleaguered rice sector is both literally and figuratively drying up, with drought parching crops and commercial banks refusing liquidity to farmers and millers in need of loans to stay afloat'.

Predicting future climate seems questionable, most of the analysis concerns the past:

'While the rice sector has long faced problems of underfunding and black market dealing, and is increasingly being impacted by environmental change and degradation, its woes have been compounded by European Union (EU) tariffs imposed last year on rice imports from Cambodia.
...
While the total tonnage of Cambodia’s rice exports fell by less than 1% last year, chiefly because of the uptick of exports to China, official data shows that the total financial value of rice shipments fell by 4.3%, down to US$501 million. In other words, exports to China aren’t nearly as profitable as exports to the EU'.

Looking back I see quite a few publications with similar conclusions. Asean Today (Jan. 13) for instance:

'Following the tariff introductions, rice exports from the Kingdom to the EU fell by 30% in 2019. Buyers are using falling exports as an excuse to drive rice prices down.
Choeun Socheat, a rice farmer in Cambodia’s Battambang province, told VOA that rice prices are down to US$232 per ton, US$60 less than the previous year’s rate. “The dealers told us that the price is low because they are buying rice to keep at the rice mills, but not for exporting abroad.”

However when looking at rice price changes (FAO, December 2019 report), export prices for Vietnamese rice (comparable?) were down 17-18% for the 12 months preceding, whereas FAO's own indices are down 5-7%.

So the loss of the aforementioned 4.3% in overall exported value doesn't seem too bad.

One should also note that exports are only a fraction of total production. The Asia Times article f.i. notes:

'The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported last year that some 44% of Cambodia’s rice exports are undocumented and smuggled out of the country, chiefly because millers cannot afford to purchase the entire harvest and growers look to informal brokers for quick cash'.

Let's conclude with what the Phnom Penh Post (Jan. 2) reports on 2019:

'Rice exports reached 620,106 tonnes last year, a drop of almost one per cent from the 626,225 tonnes the previous year, the Cambodian Rice Federation (CRF) said.
The total value of exports dropped more than four per cent last year from 2018, the Kingdom’s rice industry body added.
Coupled with the 1.43 per cent decline between 2018 and 2017, the modest drop marks the second consecutive year that exports have fallen.
According to a CRF report obtained by The Post on Wednesday, the total value of the Kingdom’s rice exports were valued at some $501 million last year, down 4.3 per cent from $524 million in 2018.
A breakdown of the data showed that the 202,990 tonnes to the Chinese market accounted for 40.73 per cent of rice exports, followed by 13.41 per cent, or 83,164 tonnes, to the Asean region and 13.84 per cent, equal to 85,847 tonnes, to other markets.
According to Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries data, Cambodia also exported 2.15 million tonnes of rice to Vietnam last year'.

Shipped

It should be noted that Cambodia is not the only rice exporter faced with a downward trend. 

The Bangkok Post (Jan. 16):

'Thailand's rice exports in 2020 are forecast to drop to their lowest in seven year, the country's rice exporters group said on Thursday, as the strong baht reduces the competitiveness against other shippers.
Exports from Thailand, the world's second-biggest exporter of the commodity after India, are expected to drop to 7.5 million tonnes this year, the Thai Rice Exporters Association said. That would be the lowest volume since Thailand exported 6.6 million tonnes of rice in 2013.
The grim forecast came after Thailand fell short of its initial 2019 target by exporting 7.8 million tonnes of rice last year'.

Reuters (Jan. 13) though notes that Vietnam is bucking the trend though only slightly:

'Rice exports from Vietnam, the world’s third-largest shipper of the grain, rose 4.2% in 2019 from a year earlier to 6.4 million tonnes, customs data showed on Monday.
However, revenue from rice exports last year dropped 8.3% to $2.8 billion, the Customs Department said in a statement'.

In other rice related news from the region, Thailand's Nation (Jan. 8) has a report on a particular niche:

'Netizens have widely shared a phenomenal photo of a pink rice field in Phitsanulok, wondering if it was for real. It certainly is.
The pink rice field is owned by Naresuan University alumnus Jaturong Chomphusa, who turned his back on an office job three years ago to become a farmer'.

Then an interesting find a vdo from Laos on a labour saving small-scale, low tech rice harvester.

Jumping

Back to Cambodia and some competitive crops.

Cassava. The Phnom Penh Post (Jan. 9) notes an upswing for cassava growing.

'Cambodia exported 3.29 million tonnes of cassava last year, up 27 per cent from 2018’s 2.59 million tonnes, a Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries report said.
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Veng Sakhon wrote via Facebook that the Kingdom’s export of agricultural products last year reached more than 6.93 million tonnes, which he estimated to be worth more than $1.9 billion'.

It contrasts with maize. The Phnom Penh Post (Jan. 7):

'Total corn exports dropped by more than 40 per cent on 2018 due to last year’s drought and pest damage, industry insiders said.
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries data showed that last year the Kingdom exported 119,993 tonnes of red corn – down 41.23 per cent on 2018’s 204,184 tonnes.
The exports were mostly to Thailand, Vietnam and Taiwan, according to the data'.

Not so closely involved in competition, there's also news from f.i. rubber growing. 

Phnom Penh Post (Dec. 31):

'The Kingdom’s rubber exports saw a 24 per cent increase over the first 11 months of last year compared to the same period in 2018, data from the General Directorate of Rubber obtained by The Post on Tuesday showed.
Pol Sopha, the director-general of the General Directorate of Rubber, who declined to comment on the reason behind the jump, told The Post on Tuesday that the Kingdom exported 233,677 tonnes of rubber with an export value of $311 million during the period.
The data also showed that 434,552ha of rubber had been planted in the first 11 months of last year, with more than 230,000ha of rubber having been harvested'.

Further rubber news from the Phnom Penh Post (Jan. 12):

'The General Directorate of Rubber announced a joint study on family-owned rubber plantations in three provinces to better understand how growers have responded to the sharp drop in rubber prices over the past nine years.
The average cost of rubber has fallen from around $4,600 per tonne in 2011 to about $1,350 per tonne in early 2020, according to its report'.

Bangkok Post (Jan. 20) though exemplifies that increasing rubber cultivation (as in Cambodia) is not the broader global trend:

'Rubber farmers are set to endure another year of low rubber prices as global uncertainty and a strong baht drive importers to turn off the taps.
The Economic Intelligence Center (EIC) forecasts a gloomy outlook for rubber prices in Thailand this year due to tepid demand from China and increased domestic supply in Thailand'.

Involved

Fruitier news then. The Phnom Penh Post (Jan. 20):

'As many as 300 tonnes of mango are processed every day in the Kingdom for export, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said in a report.
It said the industry is dominated by five companies which together use 250-300 tonnes of the fruit per day.
Heng Sreng, the general manager of Boeung Ket Planting and Industrial Co Ltd, one of the companies highlighted in the report, told The Post on Sunday that it buys between 100 and 140 tonnes of mangoes per day at around 750 riel ($0.18) per kilogramme.
“Recently, we have had a chance to buy a lot of mangoes. There is a large supply now as companies in Vietnam and Thailand have temporarily stopped orders due to the holidays [Chinese and Vietnamese New Year],” he said.
Last year, Boeung Ket Planting and Industrial exported between 300 and 400 tonnes of dry mango products, mostly to China.
...
Last year, the Kingdom exported 58,162 tonnes of fresh mango to six markets – Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, France, Russia and Hong Kong.
Ngin Chhay, the director-general of the General Directorate of Agriculture at the ministry, said Cambodia produces four million tonnes of mango annually, with 100,000ha dedicated to the crop'.

Phnom Penh Post (Jan. 5) on banana's:

'The export of yellow bananas to international markets last year reached 157,812 tonnes, most of which was exported to China and the rest to Vietnam and Japan, a Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries report showed.
There is no data on 2018 banana exports to international markets as it mostly comprised of informal exports to Vietnam. However, the ministry said Cambodia exported some 10,000 tonnes to international markets in 2018.
Hun Lak, the director of Longmate Agriculture Co Ltd, which plans to invest in 1,000ha of banana plantations in Kampot province by 2021, said over 400ha of plantations were harvested last year – with 10,000 tonnes of yellow bananas going to China'.

Nuts then. Phnom Penh Post (Jan. 13):

'Cambodia exported some 202,318 tonnes of cashew nuts last year to foreign markets, up nearly 100 per cent from 2018’s 101,973 tonnes, a Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries report said.
Khan Samban, director of the ministry’s Department of Agro-Industry, told The Post that the strong growth in exports is due to the ministry’s simplification of export procedure and the commodity’s improved standards.
“Our cashew nuts have a good taste and quality, so we’ve received increased demand from foreign countries,” Samban said.
He said he expects cashew nut prices to fall to around 5,000 or 6,000 riel ($1.23 or $1.48) per kilogramme in the early harvest season this year. “Cashew nut yield will increase this year due to an increase in cultivation.”

Oddly, news on Vietnam - the world leader in cashew growing and exporting - but from the Phnom Penh Post (Dec. 24):

'Vietnam's cashew sector aims to earn US$4 billion in export turnover next year.
According to the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas), the sector will focus on deep processing, improving quality and diversifying products towards realising the goal.
This year, the sector imported over 1.5 million tonnes of raw materials, mostly from Africa, to meet its processing and production demand.
Mergers and acquisitions have also taken place this year with more and more large-scale enterprises operating in the industry, the association said.
By the end of November, Vietnamese businesses had shipped more than 418,000 tonnes of cashew abroad for almost $3 billion, while this year’s targets are 450,000 tonnes and $3.5 billion'.

Then the Phnom Penh Post (Jan. 6) on pepper growing:

'Pepper exports more than doubled last year despite Kampot pepper exports having dropped more than 27 per cent year-on-year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said.
Total pepper exports reached 3,693.25 tonnes last year – up 53.17 per cent from 2,411.20 tonnes over the same period in 2018, the ministry’s data showed.
Meanwhile, Kampot pepper exports fell from 69 to 50 tonnes over the same period, the Kampot Pepper Promotion Association (KPPA) said.
KPPA president Nguon Lay said farmers harvested 125 tonnes of Kampot pepper last year but were only able to export less than half of that due to “the lack of new export markets”

Noteworthy, Kampot pepper also gets reported on by the BBC (Jan. 16).

Finally in other news, Monsanto related. Reuters (Jan. 17):

'Bayer could be close to settling more than 75,000 cancer claims related to its Roundup herbicide, with mediator Ken Feinberg on Friday saying he was “cautiously optimistic that a settlement will ultimately be reached.”
Feinberg said the settlement negotiations were complex and difficult. Asked about a timeline, he said it would be “premature to state that a settlement is near or will be reached.
”Feinberg declined to discuss terms of the possible settlement, but told Reuters the group of plaintiffs’ lawyers involved in the negotiations had been expanded, suggesting a potential wide-ranging settlement'.

Scheisse

It seems to be all unravelling for Bayer on it's purchase of Monsanto. The Guardian (Sep. 4) notes:

'Germany has said it will phase out the controversial weedkiller glyphosate because it wipes out insect populations crucial for ecosystems and pollination of food crops.

The chemical, also suspected by some experts to cause cancer in humans, is to be banned by the end of 2023 when the EU’s approval period for it expires, ministers said.

Biologists have sounded the alarm over plummeting insect populations that affect species diversity and damage ecosystems by disrupting natural food chains and plant pollination'.

An unusual source, (the Common Dreams, Aug. 28) looked at the internal communications of Monsanto, which (at least in the past) seemed to have been lacking:

'Leaked emails from scientists working with agrichemical giant Monsanto feature company leaders in 2013 wishing they could "beat the shit out of" advocacy group Moms Across America. 

Moms Across America wrote an open letter asking Monsanto to discontinue the use of the pesticide glyphosate—which some research has tied to cancers—and to stop producing genetically modified seeds that was seen by company executives as a public relations disaster.

"I have been arguing for a week to beat the shit out of them and I have clearly lost," Monsanto's Dr. Daniel Goldstein wrote to University of Georgia crop scientist Wayne Parrott and University of Illinois biochemist Bruce Chassy. "We don't want to be seen as beating up on mothers."

The emails were released as part of litigation relating to the cancer-causing effects of glysophate against Monsanto's now-parent company Bayer'. 

Sought
Quite some news to share on Cambodia's rice industry.
Starting with organic production of rice. The Khmer Times (Sep. 4) notes how important organic rice exports to the EU are, in which Cambodia is a big-time player:

'Cambodia was the fifth largest exporter of organic rice to the European Union last year, with local companies confident exports will continue to rise in the coming years.

Demand for organic rice in the EU and other key markets like the United States, Australia, and China is soaring as consumers become more environmentally and health-conscious, key insiders said.

According to figures from the EU shared with the Cambodia Rice Federation, Cambodia exported 8,467 tonnes of organic rice to the bloc last year, representing 3.9 percent of all EU organic rice imports.

The US was the largest exporter of organic rice to the EU, accounting for almost 70 percent of the market. It was followed by Pakistan and India, with 10 and 9 percent, respectively.

Thailand came in at number four with 4.9 percent of the market (10,522 tonnes in exports).

Local rice exporters told Khmer Times that the amount of Cambodian organic rice shipped to the bloc has increased this year.

About 90 percent of all Cambodian exports of organic rice to the EU last year belonged to Amru Rice Cambodia.

...

Chan Pich, general manager of Signature of Asia, who last year exported 1,500 tonnes of organic rice to the EU, said demand for organic rice in the European Union grows about 15 percent every year.

“Cambodia’s organic rice is sought after in the EU because it has good quality and real traceability,” Mr Pich said.

According to Mr Pich, a tonne of organic jasmine rice fetches $1,500 while organic long-grain white rice sells for about $950 per tonne'.

Organics are  less affected by the increased tariffs on rice to the EU it appears, which are still being contended. The Khmer Times (Aug. 23):

'The Cambodian Rice Federation (CRF) yesterday asked the European Union to save the livelihoods of half a million families by halting the process to withdraw the Everything-but-arms scheme'.

But a few days later the same source (Aug. 27) notes a different strategy in regards to the increased tariffs:

'The Cambodia Rice Federation plans to meet with the European Commission to discuss the tariffs imposed on Cambodian rice earlier this year, according to a representative of the association.

However, CRF has yet to receive any response from Brussels regarding the complaint, Mr Yeng told Khmer Times.

Mr Yeng said the strategy is now to negotiate with the EU and to show European legislators that exports of Cambodian rice do not threaten the livelihoods of European farmers.

“In April, CRF filed a complaint with the EU. Now, we continue this work, but we will change our approach. We will meet with the EU and explain the issue because we believe that the EU is missing vital information that has led them to take the wrong course of action,” Mr Yeng said.

“Our rice is different from rice grown by farmers in Italy and Spain. We believe the decision to impose tariffs was based on a misunderstanding of the situation,” Mr Yeng added'.

It's questionable how much China will manage to pick up of the slackening trade with EU. The Khmer Times (Sep. 10):

'The Cambodia Rice Federation is confident the Kingdom will reach its milled rice export quota in the Chinese market, with the association emboldened by last week’s visit of China’s largest food processor, COFCO.

The Kingdom was unable to meet the quota last year, shipping just 170,000 tonnes out of the 300,000 allowed.

This year, however, things will be different, argued Lun Yeng, CRF secretary-general. Mr Yeng said that a delegation from Chinese firm COFCO arrived in Cambodia last week to “understand the situation” of rice production in Cambodia.

...

In the first half of 2019, Cambodia’s milled rice exports rose by 3.7 percent to 281,538 tonnes. Shipments to China represented 42 percent of all exports, about 118,400 tonnes'.

The overall strategy for the Cambodian rice industry (read exports) as exemplified by the Khmer Times (Aug. 15):

'The new board of the Cambodia Rice Federation yesterday vowed to grow the country’s rice exports to one million tonnes a year by 2022.

During the first meeting of the association since new leadership was elected last week, board members pledged to turn Cambodian rice into a globally recognisable brand and make the industry more sustainable, fair and transparent.

Song Saran, who is now the association’s president, said the priority will be to achieve one million tonnes in rice exports a year within the next three years.

...

Chan Sokheang, CEO of Signatures of Asia and a CRF board member, said, “We will work together to achieve the one-million-tonne target. Everyone wants to see this done.

“We must work as one to build a strong rice industry in Cambodia,” Mr Sokheang added.

The country’s exports of milled rice rose 3.7 percent during the first seven months of the year to reach 308,013 tonnes. China continues to be the Kingdom’s biggest market, purchasing 123,361 tonnes from January to July, a 40 percent increase'.

Finally some rice side news. AKP (Sep. 4):

'Agreement has been reached to build rice warehouses and silos in three provinces, which will contribute essentially to enhancing capacity of rice processing for exports to international markets.

The agreement was signed lately by Rice-SDP (Climate Resilient Rice Commercialisation Sector Development Programme) of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Rural Development Bank (RDB), and rice millers.

Under the agreement, selected rice millers will build rice warehouses and silos in three provinces of Battambang, Kampong Thom, and Prey Veng using US$10 million loan from the Asia Development Bank (ADB) through RDB'.

Hoarding

The Bangkok Post (Aug. 27) has an article on the Siam sticky rice woes:

'In a move to tackle rising glutinous rice prices, the government has ordered millers, traders and exporters to report their stocks by on Tuesday.

The Commerce Ministry will also call a meeting with millers and packaged rice producers on Wednesday to produce packed glutinous rice at a special price.

Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit said he already ordered a nationwide inspection of glutinous rice to check hoarding and price gouging.

...

The domestic price of sticky rice rose sharply to 50 baht per kg from 35 baht last month.

The surge was attributed to the widespread drought and lower production over the last two years, as farmers shifted to grow more hom mali fragrant rice as the latter has a higher price.

...

"One of the urgent issues we are proposing the Commerce Ministry address is the smuggling of glutinous rice from neighbouring countries," said Mr Chookiat [Chookiat Ophaswonge, honorary president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association].

"Some foreign buyers have complained that their DNA tests have found Thai glutinous rice shipments are mingled with Vietnamese grains."

The free-on-board prices of Vietnamese glutinous rice are now quoted at about US$600 a tonne, while those of Thai glutinous rice amounts to $1,500, which is higher than Thai hom mali rice which remains at $1,200 a tonne'.

Aside from this Thai news, the major news from the Kingdom of Wonder is how the new junta will seek to entice farmers with what looks like a pledging scheme albeit with a different name. The Bangkok Post (Aug. 17):

'Paddy prices may be guaranteed at 10,000 to 14,000 baht a tonne for rice farmers initially, according to the commerce minister.

Jurin Laksanawisit said on Saturday that a joint meeting of officials, operators and farmers had agreed to set the prices of five types of paddy.

The output for each farming household varies by paddy type but the acreage per household for all five categories must not exceed 40 rai.

...

At the same time, he said, authorities would take steps to reduce production costs such as those for fertilisers, insecticides and harvesting fees. Other measures include promoting large-scale farming and the use of high-quality seeds, as well as buying general insurance for crops.

"Market demand will dictate production. Organic or GAP [Good Agricultural Practice] rice farming and special breeds will be promoted. In the long term, growers will be trained to become smart farmers, with the help of research, development and innovation," said Mr Jurin.

...

Its strong points are that, unlike the rival Pheu Thai Party's rice-pledging programme, it does not distort market mechanisms and corruption is generally minimal because the money is deposited directly to farmers' bank accounts.

One of the disadvantages of the programme is the government gets nothing in return for using a large budget to cover price differences, compared to the pledging programme in which rice can be kept for sale at a later date.

Besides, officials have to deal with rampant false claims about the sizes of rice fields by farmers seeking to be paid more. It also puts pressure on prices to rise because millers and others who buy the grain know the government will pay the price differences'.

Expectations
A major move in the alternatives for rice, the Khmer Times (Aug. 28) reports on Thailand closing the border for corn:

'Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce last week announced a ban on field corn imports coming through Ban Khao Din, in the border with Cambodia.

Ban Khao Din is an international border gate in Thailand’s Sa Kaeo province, which borders Battambang province.

In a statement, the ministry said the import ban will protect Thai farmers from potentially contaminated Cambodian goods, adding that Thailand produces enough corn to satisfy local demand.

“Starting the end of this month, imports of field corn will no longer be allowed through the border crossing with Cambodia,” the ministry said'.

Minor crops and some little heard of. For instance pomelo's. The Khmer Times (Sep. 5):

'Receiving Geographical Indication (GI) status has done little to increase sales of Koh Trong Pomelo outside Kratie province, farmers said.

The pomelo grown in Kratie’s Koh Trong commune last year became the third Cambodian product to obtain GI status, following in the footsteps of Kampot pepper and Kampong Speu’s palm sugar.

The fruit, however, has not gained much in popularity outside the province since, according to the Koh Trong Pomelo Producer Association, who owns 1,200 of the 2,000 pomelo trees in Koh Trong'.

Other fruity news. The Khmer Times (Sep. 5)

'Longmate Agriculture, one of five local companies allowed to export bananas directly to China, said they are on track to meet its goal of shipping 22,000 tonnes of the fruit by the end of the year.

Speaking to Khmer Times on Monday, Hun Lak, Longmate Agriculture director, said they have exported the fruit every month since the first shipment in early May.

“Our goal was to ship 22,000 tonnes of fresh yellow bananas to China and we are on course to meet that target,” he said, adding that small changes in yield due to weather conditions might slightly alter the total amount of fruit shipped in 2019.

...

Cambodia is expected to ship 130,000 tonnes of bananas to the Chinese market this year, the minister noted'.

Then the Khmer Times (Sep. 11) reports on the possibilities of exporting mango with the answer being as above: China.

'Mango is likely to be the next product that Cambodia exports directly to China, according to an official of the Ministry of Agriculture.

...

Mr Monyvuth [Ke Monyvuth, director of the ministry’s crop protection and SPS department] said on Tuesday that a team from China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine will visit Cambodia next month to conduct inspections at registered farmers.

“We expect that fresh mangoes will be the next agricultural product that Cambodia exports to China and we are now working to provide technical assistance to farmers to prepare for the requirements of the Chinese market,” Mr Monyvuth said.

In July, the ministry made public a list of the agricultural goods that are being prioritised for export to China. The list contained six items – fresh mango, longan, pepper, dragon fruit, fragrant coconut, and bird nests'.

Secure
Finally, the Kathmandu Post has an interesting article (Sep. 10) on farmers use of hybrid seeds (in all assorted crops) which is increasing.

"It’s not just local varieties of cauliflower that have been replaced by hybrid varieties from other countries. Most vegetables that the villagers grow come from imported hybrid seeds. And this is not limited to Bardev—it is happening across the country.

Just three decades ago, a majority of Nepali farmers relied on local indigenous seeds. Even until the 90s, Nepal was a seed exporting country. Today, according to agriculture scientists, more than 90 percent of vegetable seeds employed in the country are imported. Nearly 30 percent of maize seeds are imported, and around 15 percent of rice seeds are from other countries. As the number of vegetables and grains grown from imported hybrid seeds increases every year, scientists warn that this reliance on imports for something as sensitive to food security as seeds could have devastating consequences for the country’s agriculture sector—and for the genetic diversity of indigenous plants. “A country can never be food secure if it isn't seed secure,” said Madan Rai, seed specialist and agronomist. “Seed security is when farmers in the country have access to quality seeds at the right time and at reasonable prices. It's important that we as a country are self-sufficient on seeds to truly become food secure.”

...

But there have been several incidents of massive crop failure in the past. In 2013, paddy planted in 16 VDCs in Bhaktapur, amounting to 20,000 tonnes and worth Rs 80 million, was destroyed by “neck blast” and “bacterial leaf blight” diseases. Investigations revealed that the farmers had used DY 69--a Chinese hybrid variety--registered and recommended by the Seed Quality Control Centre under the Ministry of Agriculture Development in 2010. Bhandari was assigned to investigate the case, and his findings revealed the extent to which lack of information could hurt farmers. “The hybrid seed the farmers had used was recommended for the Tarai and Inner Tarai region, not Bhaktapur,” says Bhandari.

...

Some agro-scientists the Post spoke to said that depending solely on hybrid seeds isn’t good for the soil.“Hybrid seeds require a lot more nutrients than open-pollinated ones. So farmers have to use a lot of fertilisers, which accelerates the depletion of soil quality,” said Ghimire. “This is one of the long term serious negative impacts of using hybrid seeds.”Increased use of hybrid seeds will thus drive demand for pesticides and chemical fertilisers, and Nepal, which doesn't manufacture such fertilisers, will end up relying more on imports.

...

After decades of singular focus on hybrid seeds to increase agricultural productivity, there's a growing demand for crops produced from local varieties. “It's a fact that crops from hybrid seeds don't taste or smell as good as local varieties. Hybrid rice will never match the taste and smell of Pokhreli Jetho Budo, and the demand for local products are seeing an increase,” said Bhandari. “People are willing to pay more for local crops. Once there's demand, there will be supply.”

Surge

The usual:

Rice in Cambodia. In the wider region. The alternatives. Wider rural issues. And a parting shot at Monsanto.
That's all.

Cambodia thus. 
Vietnamplus.vn (May 7) looks at the latest rice export statistics, which reveal that China is putting it's money where it's mouth is:

'Cambodia’s rice exports to China have surged strongly after the European Union (EU) imposed duties on rice imports from the Southeast Asian nation, the World Bank (WB) said on May 6.
The EU in January imposed tariffs for three years on rice imported from Cambodia and Myanmar to curb an increase in imports from those two countries and to protect EU producers such as Italy.
Cambodia has filed a challenge with the European Court of Justice (ECJ) against the duties.
According to the WB’s country economic update, after the tariffs were imposed, Cambodia’s milled rice exports to the EU in February were only 10,080 tonnes, a 57.8 percent decline from the previous month.
Cambodia exported 270,000 tonnes or 43 percent of its total milled rice exports to the EU in 2018, the WB said.
The decline in Cambodia’s rice exports to the EU was more than offset by the increase in the country’s rice exports to the Chinese market, the WB said in its report.
Cambodia’s rice exports to China grew by 45.6 percent, and it managed to increase its overall exports of rice by 2 percent during the first two months of the year'.

The above comes hot on the heels of the Khmer Times (Apr. 26) revealing:

'China will agree to buy 400,000 tonnes of Cambodian rice in a memorandum of understanding that will be signed tomorrow in Beijing, according to the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce'.

More Chinese investment (Khmer Times, May 27) too:

'In a meeting with Minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak, Bi Guangmin, chairman of the board of Henan at Yuguang International Economic and Technical Cooperation, unveiled plans to build a warehouse and a silo with a capacity to store up to 1 million tonnes of rice'.

On the storage subject. The Phnom Penh Post (May 28):

'With more plans for rice storage and silos in Cambodia, industry insiders have expressed their optimism that a lack of facilities will not pose a challenge for the Kingdom’s rice market this year.
Cambodian Rice Federation vice-president Norng Veasna said thanks to efforts from the private sector’s rice millers and support from state institutions, the harvest season this year will not see the same issues as in the past few years.
Drying silos and rice storage facilities can currently be found in almost every province'.

The last Cambodian rice news snippet: the  Khmer Times (May 28) notes efforts being made to add Japonica rice to the palette of rice exports:

'Minister of Agriculture Veng Sakhon last week said that tests on Japonica rice have ended, yielding encouraging results. Those tests were being conducted in Kampong Thom province, and show that yields of Japonica are nearly twice as big as those of other varieties grown in the Kingdom.

A hectare of land planted with Japonica can produce 6.5 tonnes of rice, Mr Sakhon said in a post on the ministry’s Facebook page. On average, a hectare in Cambodia yields 3.5 tonnes of rice.

...

Song Saran, CEO of Amru Rice, said Japonica has great potential but that Cambodia is still not ready to plant it for commercial purposes.

“After many tests, we have concluded that Japonica rice can grow well in Cambodia with very high yields,” he said.

“However, the variety needs a lot of water, so we must now study how to reduce the amount of water required,” said Mr Saran, whose firm has also conducted tests on the variety'.

Shifts
Looking at the wider region and rice, just a limited amount of news.

Thailand's official subsidies for rice are directed to high-input rice growing. But they also seem to be interested in low-input rice cultivation. The Nation (May 28):

'The Thai Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and the German government's international co-operation agency on Friday announced the launch of a joint public-private project aimed at transforming the central plains of Thailand to low-carbon rice farming.

...

Under this project, some 100,000 local rice farming households covering 2.8 million rai of rice fields in six provinces of Chainat, Angthong, Pathum Thani, Sing Buri, Ayutthaya, and Suphan Buri would shift to a sustainable method of rice-growing. This is intended to increase their productivity while also cutting greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to the rising global temperature, the minister said.

The project - having a revolving fund and providing training to farmers - would have farmers shifting from their current method of rice growing to apply the low greenhouse gas-emitting way, use appropriate rice seed strain and related technologies (such as the land-levelling, the alternated wet and dry water management for rice fields, the fertiliser application based on soil testing and analysing, and the rice straw and stubble management to avoid applying a haze-creating method of burning)'. 

Then the Phnom Penh Post (Apr. 30) looks at rice exports from Laos:

'Laos is anticipating reduced income from rice exports this year in the wake of widespread flooding across the country last year.
The country set a target of $45.6 million for rice exports last year but could only achieve $31.4 million, according to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
This year, the government is expecting to earn only $25.2 million from rice exports, a significant decline compared to last year’s figure'.

Instead

On the developing of alternatives to rice growing, there's lots of Cambodian related news reports on bananas.
Phnom Penh Post (Apr. 30):

'Cambodia can now directly export yellow bananas to China, without relying on Vietnam as an intermediary, a Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announcement said.
The General Directorate of Agriculture under the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on Monday announced that to send bananas directly to the Chinese market, exporters must comply with certain requirements'.

Khmer Times (May 2) chimes in:

'Five Cambodian companies have been given permission to export bananas directly to China, the Ministry of Agriculture announced earlier this week.
The announcement follows the signing of a protocol on the exportation of bananas in August between China and Cambodia, an agreement that effectively allows Cambodia to ship the fruit to China.
According to the ministry, five local companies are now allowed to export directly to China after a group of Chinese experts visited their farms in Cambodia and gave them the nod'.

 And then (Khmer Times, May 10):

'Cambodia yesterday began the process of sending its first shipment of bananas to the Chinese market, after five local companies were greenlighted by the Chinese government last month.
During a ceremony attended by Agriculture Minister Veng Sakhon, 100 tonnes of bananas were stored at a warehouse in Phnom Penh, ready to the shipped to the Chinese market.
No official date has been given as to when the shipment will take place'.

Khmer Times (May 13) has an interview with a banana industry leader:

'Mr Hun Lak [Longmate Agriculture director]: Our investment, which was approved by the Council for the Development of Cambodia last year, sits on 1,000 hectares of land located in Chhuk district, Kampot province. The capital investment is about 32 million dollars. We have planted yellow bananas on over 400 hectares of land and so far our plantation has run for 15 months. This year, we expect to send 22,000 tonnes of fresh bananas to the Chinese market, and expand to 33,000 tonnes a year by 2020. About 120 tonnes of fresh bananas, equivalent to six containers, have been packed at our packaging house facility in Kampot province and was loaded onto the ship on May 11 ready to be sent to China. It would take about 10 days to get to the destination, namely: Dalain, Shanghai and Shenzhen cities in China. Our banana shipment to the market will pass Sihanoukville Autonomous Port and Phnom Penh Autonomous Port. If the Sihanoukville port is busy, we will carry through the Phnom Penh port instead'.

Vietnamplus.vn (May 3) looks at neighbouring Laos and bananas:

'Banana is expected to be Laos' top agricultural export in 2019 despite the local government’s ban on the expansion of plantations around the country, according to local daily Vientiane Times.
In 2017, the Southeast Asian country earned 167.9 million USD from banana exports. The figure dipped to 112 million USD in 2018, but is expected to rise to 168 million USD in 2019, according to the Lao Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
The bulk of the crop will be sold to China and some to Thailand'.

Trends
Differing crops, differing prospects.
The Phnom Penh Post (May 22) on coffee:

'Vietnam's coffee exports have fallen in both volume and value terms this year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

It exported 629,000 tonnes worth $1.1 billion in the first four months, a year-on-year decrease of 13.4 per cent in volume and 22.5 per cent in value.
The trend is forecast to continue this month, the ministry said'.

Khmer Times (May 23) on silage:

'Japanese company Applied Natural Products (ANP) is planning to invest in the production of sorghum silage in Battambang province'.

Khmer Times (May 10) yet again with regards to black pepper:

'Production of renowned Kampot pepper, one of Cambodia’s only two products to be registered as a Geographical Indication in the European Union, will increase substantially this year, the Kampot Pepper Promotion Association said.
The association projects a 69-tonne hike in yields, meaning that about 90 tonnes will be produced.
However, the figure is lower than that of 2017, when more than 100 tonnes were produced, said Ngoun Lay, the association’s president'.

Khmer Times (Apr. 30) on the kingdoms rubber:

'Rubber production increased by 32 percent in the first quarter of the year, with most of it shipped abroad, according to the latest official report'.

Spoils
Besides banana's, there's plenty more fruit news. 
The Khmer Times (May 21):

'Cambodia hopes to start exporting longan to Thailand in the near future, with the two countries planning to sign an agreement on phytosanitary requirements.
Longan is poised to become the second agricultural product officially exported to Thailand following mango.
...
Un Theng, representative of an agricultural community in Pailin province, said the fruit is grown across the province, with annual yields of 7,000 tonnes.
He said the fruit now fetches from 4,000 riel ($1) to 5,000 riel ($1.25) per kilogram, adding that it is mostly bought on-site by visiting Thai merchants.
“We asked the General Department of Agriculture to conduct work on phytosanitary requirements so that the fruit can be exported legally to Thailand.”
However, even after the countries sign the protocol, Mr Theng said exporting the fruit will be troublesome.
“The General Department of Agriculture would likely require that we have a certificate for every shipment. However, we export the fruit on a daily basis and cannot wait to obtain the certificate because then the fruit could spoil,” he said.
“We want to be able to ship as much as we want with just one certificate,” he said.
He noted that a Chinese company is now building a longan processing and treatment factory in the province.
“As far as I know, the company will purchase our longan. We will be able to choose: we can sell to the Thais or to the Chinese,” he said, adding that the factory is now 80 percent complete'.

Khmer Times (May 7) rejoices on export opportunities for mangoes:

'Five local mango farms were inspected by Korean officials in March, but the results of the inspection have not been made public yet, the Ministry of Agriculture revealed this week'.

But this is not all good news. The Khmer Times (May 14):

'The first shipment of Cambodian mangoes to South Korea will be delayed after the exporter failed to meet sanitary and phytosanitary requirements in the Korean market'.

Hmmm.
Better to dry. The Khmer Times (May 15):

'A Philippine firm will soon start exporting Cambodian dried mango to the Philippines and other markets, the Philippine ambassador recently revealed'.

Khmer Times (May 16) on oranges from Battambang:

'Oranges from Battambang and Pursat may become the next product to be awarded geographical indication (GI) status in Cambodia, with the Minister of Commerce now considering whether they deserve the label'.

More downsides, especially concerning the weather prospects. Or is the climate?
The Khmer Times (May 15):

'Durian production in Kampot and Kampong Cham provinces will decrease this year due to unfavourable weather conditions, according to the provincial agriculture departments'.

 Thailand is not much better of. The Nation (Apr. 24):

'The current drought and extreme summer heat could damage half of Uttaradit’s crop of iconic Long and Lin Laplae durians, the provincial governor and farmers fear.
The much-loved varieties fetch over Bt1,000 per kilogram in fruit retail sales or a Bt50,000 reservation fee per tree even before it bears fruit. But this lower northern province has this year already seen many durian, langsat and longkong trees wither'.

Against
Some more broader societal issues.
Inclusivedevelopement in a slightly dated article (Mar. 29) notes:

'Twelve indigenous communities in Cambodia’s northeastern province of Ratanakiri scored a major victory today when the government announced it was returning to them 20 spirit mountains and dozens of other spiritually significant areas that had been grabbed by the Vietnamese agribusiness giant Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL). The communities have been embroiled in a decade-long land conflict with HAGL since their ancestral lands were granted to the company to develop large-scale rubber plantations.
...
The 2014 complaint related to the IFC investment in Dragon Capital’s VEIL fund, which bankrolled HAGL’s agribusiness ventures in Cambodia and Laos. In 2016 and 2017, IFC bought equity stakes totaling $125 million in two other Vietnamese financial institutions, TP Bank and VP Bank. The banks then went on to provide financing of more than $200 million dollars to HAGL, specifically to fund its rubber plantations in Cambodia, despite the pending complaint with the CAO.
The new 117-page complaint provides extensive evidence of environmental and human rights violations resulting from HAGL’s wholesale clearance of intact forests, waterways, pastures, orchards, spirit forests, graveyards and other sacred areas belonging to indigenous communities in Ratanakiri. The communities are particularly concerned about the loss of reserved land for practicing shifting cultivation, their traditional form of agriculture, and declining soil fertility on their current farming land if they are unable to shift to other areas. These cumulative losses have seriously eroded the communities’ sovereignty over their land and system of food production and consumption, which is deeply interconnected with their identity and way of life'.

Thailand's Nation (May 20) on government policies:

'The project to set up a sugar factory and a connected bagasse-fuelled power plant is posing a threat to one of the world’s renowned jasmine rice varieties – the Thung Kula Rong Hai – according to locals living in the Pathumrat district of Roi Et province.

Raising concerns about the project, locals have now rallied behind the Pathumrat Conservation Group.

“We are against the project,” the group’s core member Prayom Sa-ngiam-rat said, after submitting the signatures of more than 2,000 locals to the Roi Et governor to show the extent of local opposition.

...

Chainarong Sretthachau, a lecturer at the Mahasarakham University, disclosed that there were now nearly 30 projects to build both a sugar plant and a biomass plant at the same site in the country’s Northeast.

“This is a result of the current government’s policy to increase sugarcane plantations in the region without caring about possible adverse impacts,” he said.

Locals are worried that such large industrial operations will use lots of groundwater and local farmers will suffer. They also suspect that the power plant may consider using coal, if there are not enough bagasse for its power generation.

“We in fact should think about such industrial operations’ impacts on paddy fields,” Chainarong said.

He said the Thung Kula way of life was about people working in their paddy fields during the rainy season and herding their cattle during the dry season.

“If paddy fields in the area are replaced by sugarcane plantations, there will be no place for cattle. And very likely farmers will fall under the control of contract farming,” he warned'.

Blows
May (the month, not the Brexit PM) proved to be dark month for Monsanto and thus Bayer:
Guardian (May 7):

'Ever since Monsanto introduced its line of Roundup weedkillers to the world in 1974, the products have been touted by the company and regulators as extremely safe. The EPA reiterated that stance last week.
But the emergence of long-held corporate secrets in three public trials has revealed a covert campaign to cover-up the pesticide’s risks and raised troubling questions about lax oversight of all pesticides by the Environmental Protection Agency and other regulatory agencies that are supposed to be protecting public health'.

This article really reveals how the company used the system to it's benefits. Or better said, Monsanto was allowed to design the system itself.

Buzzfeed (May 13):

'A California jury awarded $2 billion on Monday to an elderly couple that developed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma after years of using Monsanto's popular weed killer Roundup, delivering a major blow to the agrochemical giant'.

Japan Times (May 13):

'Germany’s Bayer apologized Sunday after revelations in France that its subsidiary Monsanto had a PR agency collate lists of politicians, scientists and journalists and their views on pesticides and GM crops'.

ewg (May 29): 

'Monsanto paid a shadowy chemical industry front group to help push back against the mounting scientific evidence that the company’s signature Roundup weedkiller causes cancer, court documents reveal'.

Reuters (May 30):

'Los Angeles County sued Monsanto Co on Thursday, seeking to force the unit of Germany’s Bayer AG to help pay for reducing PCB contamination in dozens of bodies of water'.

And what does this add to the hybrid rice discussion?
Ultimately hybrid rice is being pushed as the next big thing. However the precious little reporting in favour of hybrid rice is now also circumspect. Companies themselves can't be trusted but also seems that these corporations will do everything to tinker the system of societal checks and balances to their favour. Even buying independent thinking (see f.i. earlier postings on Nobel laureates backing  Golden Rice) has to been regarded as suspicious. 
Very few different thinkers and publishers remain ...