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'.

Safety

Quite a lot to share this time round, so without any due, let's see what IRRI (Dec. 18) has come up with:

'After rigorous biosafety assessment, Golden Rice “has been found to be as safe as conventional rice" by the Philippine Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Plant Industry. The biosafety permit, addressed to the Department of Agriculture - Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) and International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), details the approval of GR2E Golden Rice for direct use as food and feed, or for processing (FFP).

Reading the full press announcement, one notices that the Filipino procedure was just a formality it seems, If countries such as Australia, Canada, US and NZ have already verified the product, why should the Philippines lag? 
Because the prior mentioned countries will probably never ever consume the product, so their verification was easy. as suspected their approval opens the door for more approvals without carrying out significant checks. Just another step in failing to openly  discuss the strategy of giving GMO rice approval.

Range

Onwards.

There seems to be problems concerning prices on offer to farmers. The Phnom Penh Post (Dec. 11):

'Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday appealed to rice millers and paddy buyers not to lower prices and to secure better rates for farmers facing difficulties in the early harvest season.
The Cambodian Rice Federation (CRF) said the low prices were due to an influx of poor quality paddy in some areas'.

It doesn't seem to have helped. VOA (Dec. 20) entirely objectively notes this:

'The Cambodian Agriculture Ministry rejected criticism circulating on social media about farmers getting low prices for their rice in the paddy-producing provinces of Battambang, Pursat and Banteay Meanchey.
The ministry released a statement on Tuesday claiming that farmers receiving low rice prices were selling poor quality rice and that prices were still within an acceptable range. Ministry officials were also working with rice mills to procure as much rice as possible from farmers.
...
However, Yaing Saing Koma, an agricultural expert, said that rice prices were low mainly because rice export to European Union is declining.
The rice export to the EU has dropped from around 170,000 tons in 2018 to 120,000 tons in 2019 for the first eight months, according to representatives of rice millers. The rice sector was also hit with tariffs for exports to the European Union earlier this year, after Italy triggered safeguard mechanisms.
“The rice exports to the EU are dropping badly so it affects the profit of the rice milling companies. They are afraid to stock a lot of rice for export,” he said.
Earlier this month, the Cambodia Rice Federation said it needed $200 million in working capital to buy rice from the farmers on account of shrinking loans available in the financial sector, with government allocating only $50 million of the required capital'.

As above, the purchasers have said it's not their fault. The Khmer Times (Dec. 20):

'The Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) has fought back against claims that the current price of paddy is too low to sustain farmers’ livelihoods.
“Despite what people are saying on social media, the price of paddy has not decreased below market price. The current price is acceptable for farmers,” said CRF president Song Saran.
CRF comments follow viral posts on social media platforms claiming the current price level is insufficient to make a living.
...
He also suggested that the drop in the price of paddy may be the result of farmers planting lower quality varieties. He called on farmers to focus on “purer” rice types'.

A bit strange, this blame game. Surely if prices are lower, then this also spells better times for poorer citizens? A double edged sword?

Fortified
More then on the above mentioned loan scheme. The Phnom Penh Post (Dec. 8):

'The state-owned Rural Development Bank (RDB) has announced that it will distribute $50 million in loans to private rice millers to sustain the paddy market for farmers.
The Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) said the funds will be used to purchase nearly 300,000 tonnes of paddy during the post-monsoon harvest season, which ends at the beginning of next year.
The additional loans come after the CRF asked the government to provide $200 million in loans to rice millers late last month.
...
RDB CEO Kao Thach told The Post last week that capital shortage in the rice sector is between $200 million and $250 million. To help remedy the issue, he has called on commercial banks to lend more to the sector'.

Then some news on lesser rice related news from Khmer kingdom. The Phnom Penh Post (Dec. 9) looks at the evolving Chinese market:

'China has granted an additional 18 Cambodian rice millers approval to export rice into the country, bringing the total to 44, the Chinese Embassy in Phnom Penh said on Friday.
The additional rice exporters will help the Kingdom achieve its 400,000 tonne quota of rice to China starting next year, it said.
Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) vice-president Chan Sokheang said China’s decision comes after a CRF proposal to increase the Kingdom’s rice production capacity to supply the Chinese market.
...
According to an official report, in the first 11 months of this year, international rice exports totalled 514,149 tonnes. This was a 3.4 per cent increase compared to the same period last year, at 497,240 tonnes.
China was the Kingdom’s leading export market in the first 11 months of this year, with 195,242 tonnes. The EU imported 174,397 tonnes and the Asean region 69,239 tonnes. The remainder was exported to Africa and other destinations'.

Other markets. Phnom Penh Post (Dec. 3) on South Africa:

'Milled rice exporter Mekong Oryza Trading Co Ltd signed an export memorandum of understanding (MoU) with companies from Hong Kong and South Africa in Phnom Penh on Tuesday'.

Then concerning Nigeria, the Phnom Penh Post (Dec. 16):

'A Nigerian investor is looking to directly export rice from Pursat province to the west African country, citing the quality of Cambodia’s milled rice.
The investor’s representative, Mustapha Sammy Yaacob, the chief operating officer of SNZ Engineering Sdn Bhd, raised the subject at a meeting with Pursat provincial governor Mao Thonin on Sunday'.

Other snippets. Phnom Penh Post (Dec. 8) looks at contracts:

'Contract farming between community producers and rice millers or buyers brings growers great benefits, with an expanded market and more favourable prices, industry insiders have said.
Contract farming refers to an agreement between a company and an agricultural community regarding prices, quantities and standards of quality.
Signatures of Asia Co Ltd chairman and CEO Chan Sokheang told The Post on Thursday that contract farming in the paddy production sector would bring better prices for farmers than the market and ease concerns about market shortages and price fluctuations.
...
Signatures of Asia currently has contracts with 30 communities – consisting of nearly 4,000 families – in Preah Vihear, Banteay Meanchey, Stung Treng, Kampong Speu and Mondulkiri provinces, Sokheang said.
He said the high-quality phka malis paddy cost his company between 1,030 and 1,080 riel ($0.25 and $0.27) per kilogramme when bought from one such community on Thursday, while organic paddy goes for between 1,450 and 1,700 riel, which is slightly down on last year'.

Finally, the last bit on Cambodia's rice, the Phnom Penh Post (Dec. 19):

'The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) announced its collaboration on Thursday with a Cambodian company to provide rural students with micronutrient-enriched school meals.
The partnership will see the WFP and Green Trade Company blend fortified rice kernels with Cambodian white rice to support the school meals programmes organised by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport'.

Odd, this, as me thinks that this renders Golden Rice obsolete?

State

Thailand has some rice related concerns. Quality?  Bangkok Post (Dec. 1):

'Failing to win the prize as the world's best fragrant rice for two consecutive years has come as a wake-up call for Thailand to overhaul its research and development into Hom Mali rice varieties to catch up with the changing global demand for fragrant rice.
After winning the contest for five consecutive years, Thailand's Hom Mali (jasmine) rice was beaten last year by Cambodia's fragrant rice and this year by Vietnam's ST25 variety.
"It's about time that both the government and the private sector joined hands in a more serious effort to improve the quality of Thai rice to meet the global market's expectations," said Charoen Laothamatas, president of Thai Rice Exporters Association'.

Overall rice production is down.  Bangkok Post (Nov. 28):

'Thailand's annual paddy production for both the main and second crops is forecast at 27-28 million tonnes in the 2019-20 season, weighed down by a drop in production for the second crop because of flooding and drought.
Whichai Phochanakij, director-general of the Internal Trade Department, who on Wednesday chaired a meeting of the subcommittee handling reference prices for rice price guarantees, said paddy output from the second crop is estimated at just 3.5 million tonnes, down 54% from 7.75 million tonnes the previous season, due to drought and inadequate water supply from dams'.

The Nation (Nov. 28) notes how the government is sugar coating their rural policies:

'Speaking after a meeting with the rice price guarantee committee, the Department of Internal Trade’s director-general Wichai Phochanakit revealed on Wednesday (November 27) that 90 per cent of the rice grown in crop year 2019/2020 had been harvested, but the volume had decreased drastically due to drought and floods'.

More or less what the Bangkok Post (Nov. 25) previously reported on:

'The government has set aside 70 billion baht to shore up paddy prices, as the annual harvest is scheduled to flood the market this month.
Whichai Phochanakij, director-general of the Internal Trade Department, said the latest meeting of the subcommittee handling national rice policy and management chaired by Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit last week approved the schemes worth a combined 70 billion baht'.

Back on the prices subjects. Neighbour to the north (Laos) is also concerned, but to the opposite: rising prices. Phakhaolao reports (Nov. 14):

'The total yield is expected to be about 3.5 million tonnes – a downward slide from the original target of 4.4 million tonnes. Rising prices, shortages and storage issues, including difficulties in procuring rice, are worrisome for both the people and the state'.

Laos works outside world market (or nòt) thanks to their love of sticky rice. 

Derailed

Continuing on the same theme (what's happening with the neighbours), there's the never ending story of cleaning up your act. In this case is it acceptable to use what are increasingly believed to be harmful substances while maintaining you product is pure nature itself?

Concrete, use of paraquat, glyphosate and chlorpyrifos are to be axed in Thailand. Or not? Because this is after all Thailand, where anything goes.

Bangkok Post (Nov. 24) starts off:

'Opposition to the state's ban on three harmful herbicides looks set to escalate as farmers gear up to defy an order to hand over the chemicals to authorities amid plans for a rally on Tuesday.
The prohibition against the trade, use and possession of paraquat, glyphosate and chlorpyrifos -- announced late last month by the National Hazardous Substances Committee (NHSC) -- will take effect from Dec 1 but opponents are challenging its enforcement and have refused to follow orders as the deadline draws near'.

It works. The Nation (Nov. 27):

'Yielding to pressure from farmers and distributors, a government-established committee has recommended a six-month delay in the planned ban on hazardous agrichemicals paraquat and chlorpyrifos and limited continued use of a third, glyphosate.
Industry Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit said on Wednesday (November 27) the Hazardous Substance Committee he chairs voted unanimously to postpone the ban on two chemicals and allow continued use of the third. 24 committee members casted their votes while 5 were absent.
The committee had on October 22 recommended that all three be banned.
The Department of Agriculture announced in the government gazette on November 18 that the bans would take effect on December 1.
But Suriya declared on Wednesday the ban on paraquat and chlorpyrifos would be postponed to June 1 and “the use of glyphosate will follow the commitee's guideline annouced back on May 23, 2018”'.

Then the confusion. The Bangkok Post (Nov. 28):

'Public health authorities insisted on Thursday that the National Committee on Hazardous Substances neither lifted nor eased a ban on three toxic farm chemicals, as Industry Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit had said.Permanent secretary Sukhum Karnchanapimai and other senior health officials held a press conference at the ministry in Nonthaburi province on Thursday to refute Mr Suriya's announcement.On Wednesday Mr Suriya told journalists at the Industry Ministry that the new National Committee on Hazardous Substances had decided unanimously that day to lift the scheduled ban on the herbicide glyphosate and delay the ban on the herbicide paraquat and pesticide chlorpyrifos for six months from Dec 1'.

So despite no decision having been taken, a decision has been taken. Huh? Bangkok Post (Nov. 29) notes what's happening:

'BioThai, an anti-farm chemical pressure group, has alleged that "four major forces'' were behind the decision to scrap the ban on the herbicide glyphosate and delay the prohibitions against the herbicide paraquat and pesticide chlorpyrifos.
BioThai (Biodiversity & Food Sovereignty Action Thailand), which campaigned to have the chemicals banned, published an article titled "Analysis: 36 Days to derail the ban on glyphosate'' on its website on Thursday.
The group claimed the decision to derail the ban was the result of a joint effort by a Thai animal-feed producer, a group of herbicide producers, and two political parties in collusion with US entities'.

The Nation has more on this briefing.

Bangkok Post (Dec. 4):

'The Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry still has no idea how it will handle three controversial toxic farm chemicals pending an official direction from the National Hazardous Substances Committee (NHSC).
Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Chalermchai Sri-on said on Wednesday that NHSC had not sent its official resolution from its Nov 27 meeting that reviewed a proposed ban on the herbicides paraquat and glyphosate and the pesticide chlorpyrifos.
When reporters asked Mr Chalermchai what his ministry was doing with the three toxic chemicals, he said he could not relay any instructions to any organisation under his supervision pending the official conclusion from the national committee'.

Green

Phnom Penh Post (Dec. 10) has a message on an overall trade issue:

'Two more provinces have been allowed to issue the certificate of origin (CO) Form D which makes it easier for exporters to apply from their locations. In future commerce departments in each province will carry out this function.
...
With provincial departments of commerce now being able to issue the form, the application process for a CO will take just 16 hours compared to 10 days to two weeks if applied at the ministry in Phnom Penh'.

Then to the fruits. The Phnom Penh Post (Dec. 1):

'Official mango exports from Cambodia to China could begin as soon as the beginning of next year after visiting experts concluded that the fruit grown in the Kingdom is of good quality.
Officials from the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC) visited the Kingdom on November 24 to inspect Cambodian mango cultivation and determine whether to approve exports.
...
Vann Rithy, general manager of Angkor Mango, a mango buyer and exporter, on Sunday said that China is a large, high-demand and high-value market, and that official exports would greatly contribute to the growth of Cambodia’s economy.
The Kingdom’s mangoes are currently exported to China informally through Vietnam and Thailand.
“When official mango exports to China receive the green light, Cambodia will see a lot of benefits, particularly in regard to prices.
The previous need to export through neighbouring countries led to lower mango prices,” Rithy said.
He said the Kingdom would not be able to produce enough mangoes to meet the increased demand, but that yields are set to increase significantly as the approval of exports would encourage farmers in most provinces to plant more mango trees.
Chhay [Ngin Chhay, director-general of the General Directorate of Agriculture at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries] said there are currently around 60,000 to 70,000ha of mango plantations in the Kingdom'.

The Khmer Times (Dec. 20) chimes in:

'Mangoes could be one of the main agricultural products from Cambodia to be exported to foreign markets, providing high hopes for their current untapped farming potential, the government says, adding the sector is ready for new investment.
There is big scope because there are more than 100,000 hectares of land planted with the sweet, juicy fruit, which translates to at least 1 million tonnes harvested each season.
However, only a small percentage is currently exported because of poor facilities and technical knowhow for planting the trees.
...
Currently, mango fruits from Cambodia are exported to France, Spain, and Russia, Hong Kong, Thailand and Vietnam.
Last year, Cambodia exported about 50,000 tonnes of fresh mangoes to foreign markets, most of them shipped to Thailand and Vietnam.
South Korea will become a new market for mangoes by early next year, while the exporting company is working to progress the business as fast as it can'.

Phnom Penh Post (Nov. 20) on banana's:

'Yellow banana exports to China have grown since April when the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announced that the fruit can be exported directly without relying on Vietnam as an intermediary, Longmate Agriculture Co Ltd director Hun Lak said on Wednesday.
He told The Post that besides expanding its exports to China, his company is seeking to export to Japan, South Korea and the Middle East.
“In Cambodia, the climate is favourable [for yellow bananas]. It is hot and humid, and the soil is fertile and well suited to the cultivation of bananas.
...
He said Cambodia exports an average of 60 containers of bananas a month to China at a median price of between $550 and $600 per tonne.
“We have officially received approved exporter status because Chinese customs authorities and companies recognise our banana standards,” he said.
So far this year, the Kingdom had exported 127,459 tonnes of yellow bananas to China since official direct exports to the Chinese market were authorised, a report from the ministry’s General Department of Agriculture said on Friday.
According to data from the General Department of Agriculture, from the third quarter of last year, three major yellow banana farms existed in Cambodia. They are located in Ratanakkiri, Kratie and Kampot provinces and have a total area of 4,996ha – all for export'.

The Phnom Penh Post (Dec. 19) on coconut, a very overlooked crop. China seems interested:

'Coconut Palm Group Co Ltd is planning to invest in coconut plantations and set up a factory in Cambodia to produce fruit juice, said its general manager Zhao Bo at a recent meeting with Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Veng Sakhon.
The company is the biggest natural plant protein soft drink producer in China and specialises in processing tropical fruits such as coconuts.
...
The ministry said in 2016, coconut was cultivated on a total of 16,935ha in Cambodia, mainly in Preah Sihanouk, Kampong Speu and Kampot provinces.
...
Zhao said the Coconut Palm Group, located in Hainan, has annual revenues of $400 million and uses 600,000 coconuts a day in its production. The company also employs 6,000 workers and exports its juices to 38 countries.
The company, he said, was established 31 years ago, and in 2016, it paid 603 million yuan ($86.2 million) in taxes – 201 times more than it did in 1985. “Our company’s development has helped to promote the tropical fruits planting industry in Hainan,” Zhao said'.

Drop
Last chapter, ag issues in the wider region. Just a pair.
Phnom Penh Post (Dec. 15) reports on Vietnam's fruit trade:

'Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable exports dropped 0.6 per cent year-on-year to $3.5 billion in the first 11 months this year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) shows.
The drop was attributed to falling earnings from dragon fruit, which accounted for 31 per cent of total fruit exports, (down nine per cent), durian (down 17.4 per cent), coconut (down 35 per cent), longan (down 56 per cent) and watermelon (down 26.4 per cent)'.

Phakhaolao (Nov. 14) sees problems with the Lao coffee production:

'Champassak is suffering the effects of a 28 percent decrease in the price of coffee exports compared to last year, with the price now standing at 1,800 kip per kilogram compared to 2,500 kip. The province's Industry and Commerce Department said that in the first nine months of this year 17,993 tonnes of coffee was exported, a drop of 28 per cent compared to last year'. 

Perceptive

The main news is as always: facts and figures. And financial gains. 

So how is Cambodia faring export wise? 
The Phnom Penh Post (Jul. 8):

'Cambodia exported more rice to China than the EU for the first time during the first half of this year, a report from the Secretariat of One Window Service for Rice Export Formality said.

The report shows that the Kingdom’s rice exports during the first six months of this year amounted to 281,538 tonnes – up 3.7 per cent from the same period last year.

Among the 50 export destinations during the period, the Kingdom exported 118,401 tonnes to China or 42.06 per cent. The EU, which was the leading market for Cambodian rice exports, imported 93,503 tonnes (33 per cent), the report said.

Cambodia exported a total of 626,255 tonnes of rice last year, of which 43 per cent, or 269,127 tonnes, was exported to the EU while some 17,000 tonnes (27 per cent) was exported to China'.

And there's mention made of seeking newer markets. Again, the Phnom Penh Post (Jul. 12):

'Cambodia plans to export rice to African markets through South Korean companies, as its EU market share showed signs of drop in the first half of this year.

In addition to the Chinese market, the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) expects exports to Africa to help fill the EU market share, said its secretary-general Moul Sarith.

The CRF met George Kim J H, the CEO of South Korean manufacturer JS Global Corporation and many other South Korean government small- and medium-enterprise agents on Wednesday to explore opportunities to export Cambodian rice to African markets'.

Khmer Times (Jul. 10) has an extensive article on the pro's and cons of the use of the EU Everything But Arms (EBA) deal used to punish those regimes deemed worthy of sanctions.
On the one hand, we have a so-called democratically elected government being punished, whereas all it's neighbours are beyond redemption and somehow escape the same downward spirally measures. 
Note that the EBA measures have impacted Cambodia's trade in rice with Europe.
Snippets from the article:

'Indeed, the withdrawal of EBA from Cambodia poses more harm than good, and will undermine the influence of the west in the Kingdom.
...
In fact, economic sanctions are proven to be less effective and hard to spark the regime change these sanctions are often perceived to inculcate in an academic sense, particularly since it comes at the expense of civilians and their livelihood.
...
Economic sanctions on Cambodia will sour the influence of the European Union and consequently push the Kingdom closer to China.
In response to the potential suspension of EBA and the recent tariff imposed on the Kingdom’s rice export to the EU market, China has promised Cambodia with four billion yuan in aid and pledged to import 400,000 tonnes of rice, giving Cambodia’s government, alternative sources of development aid and loans to withstand the impacts of economic sanctions.
...
The primary concern is the Chinese debt-trap diplomacy which has sparked international headlines. Though, Cambodia’s government claims the current debt is manageable, the Kingdom’s debts to China is nevertheless perceived to be at a level where perception has set in that Beijing may take advantage of this situation to put in place a certain degree of political influence on Cambodian affairs.
Having strategic control over Cambodia’s economic corridor, including the Kingdom’s major logistic and tourist hub, China may not hesitate to gamble for the influence over Cambodia to protect its interests. These will certainly pose significant threats to security interests and economic powers of the European Union and its alliance in the long run'.

Worry
Back to the rice market.
On the demand side, as always things are improving. The Phnom Penh Post (Jun. 21):

'Cambodia signed an engineering, procurement and construction contract on the “Promotion of Paddy Production and Rice Exports Project” with Chinese state-owned company CITIC Construction Co Ltd to build rice storage facilities and drying silos in strategic locations in the Kingdom, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said'.

Looking at organics, there's this, likewise from the Phnom Penh Post (Jun. 28):

'Amru Rice (Cambodia) Co Ltd, a local rice exporter and leading organic paddy producer, signed a more than $15 million loan agreement with the International Finance Corporation on Wednesday.

The firm plans to expand its organic milled rice exports to 50,000 tonnes a year, its CEO Song Saran said.

Saran told The Post on Thursday that the loan would be used to expand milled rice warehouses, drying silos, as well as to strengthen its packing standards, processing, quality and safety, and to increase capital to purchase paddy.

...

Saran said the company plans to export 20,000 tonnes of organic milled rice to the EU, US, China and Hong Kong this year, and 40,000 to 50,000 tonnes next year.

“We have been working on organic paddy for three to four years, and we have reached a commercial level, so it requires us to invest and expand business in compliance with the standards. We have nothing to worry about,” he said.

Saran said in the first six months of this year, the company exported more than 4,000 tonnes of organic milled rice, earning nearly $4 million. It expects to export 10,000 tonnes by the end of the year'.

Whereas Cambodia's exports are edging up, Reuters (Jul. 10) mentions the opposite for neighbouring Thailand:

'Thailand’s rice exports fell by 12% in the first half of 2019 hurt by a strong baht, and will likely fall short of this year’s target of 9.5 million tonnes, an exporter group said on Wednesday.

The country has been struggling to export rice at a time when the Thai baht is Asia’s best performing currency and is trading near its strongest in more than six years at 30.81 against the U.S. dollar'.

Palette
Other crops, other issues. The Khmer Times (Jun. 24) looks at mango business:

'Cambodia expects to export its first shipment of mangoes to South Korea in October following an agreement signed between both countries in 2015'.

China is also on the offering, so it seems. The Khmer Times (Jun. 17):

'Cambodia has urged China to speed work on phytosanitary requirements to greenlight exports of Cambodian mangoes'.

Rubber. The Khmer Times (Jun. 17):

'The price of rubber has fallen markedly in recent months due to a slowdown in demand in international markets, particularly China.

The commodity currently fetches $1,300 per tonne in the local market, a drop of more than $100 compared to last year, according to figures from the Ministry of Agriculture.

This is bad news for investors in the Cambodian rubber sector, said Lim Heng, vice president of An Mady Group, a company that owns a rubber plantation and exports the product.

...

Prime Minister Hun Sen last week called on farmers and investors to keep rubber plantation amid the fall in prices.

“The price of rubber is declining, but I would like to ask farmers to now follow what seems to be the trend. Some farmers are cutting down their rubber trees and replacing them with cashew trees. When the price of cashew nuts decline, they will be forced to cut down these trees and find a new crop, incurring a large cost in labour,” Mr Hun Sen said.

An Mady’s Mr Heng said the price of rubber will remain stable until next year. “At the current price, existing rubber investors may be able to stay in business, but attracting new investors will be difficult.

“Without a new policy that gives more incentives, investors won’t dare come in. They will sit and wait until conditions improve.”

More negatives. For cassava growers; potentially. The Khmer Times (Jul. 3):

'The Ministry of Agriculture is calling for stricter border controls after 12 provinces recently reported cases of the mosaic virus in cassava plantations, according to a ministry official.

...

On a Facebook post this week, Agriculture Minister Veng Sakhon also called for stricter controls and checks on sanitary and phytosanitary requirements. He asked importers to buy cassava from trusted sources and asked farmers to inform officials of any case involving the virus'.

Not all alternatives are a plus. The RFA (Jul. 3) looks at Laos' struggle with the banana plantations:

'This new plantation is the latest sign that the business of cultivating bananas in Laos for the Chinese market – widely discredited because of the impact of the excessive use of chemicals on the environment and health – is alive and kicking.
...
The central government, however, maintains that a January 2017 ban on new banana plantations remains in force, forbidding such plantations. The prohibition was prompted by concerns about chemical run-off and reports of sickened farm laborers.
“The government strictly maintains a ban on new banana farms in Laos and will punish those who violate the rules,” Deputy Agriculture Minister Bounkhouang Khambounheuang told RFA, adding that unauthorized plantations will have their operations “put on hold or shut down.”
...
But the reality is that in recent months local officials around Laos have granted concessions for new banana plantations in provinces that include Xayabury, Oudomxay and Borikhamxay. RFA has also learned that a substantial area in the southern province of Attapeu is being used for banana plantations--including land slated for villagers displaced by the deadly July 2018 collapse of the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydropower dam.

...

In late May, Laos’ state-run Vientiane Times newspaper reported that bananas were expected to be Laos' top agricultural export in 2019 despite the government’s ban on the expansion of plantations around the country. It cited a Ministry of Industry and Commerce forecast that exports would rise to $168 million in 2019, up from $112 million in 2018'. 

Finally, The Nation (Jun. 15) looks at issues surrounding fresh organic produce and fresh (wet) markets in Thailand:

'But hygiene remains an issue because these markets are not well regulated. In her study using data from the Bangkok Food Sanitation Office, Premkamol found that only 350 of the 1,120 markets in the city were regulated. In the rest there are no official checks on standards or hygiene. 

...

A study by Oxfam Thailand found that modern trade outlets, such as large supermarkets and hypermarts, have also started carrying organic products in response to demand, said Theerawit Chainarongsophon, who works in private-sector engagement at Oxfam. 

...

“This is an unfair and unbalanced distribution of the benefits,” Theerawit said. 

Oxfam Thailand found similar data when studying the distribution of income in Thailand’s shrimp industry. It discovered that up to 30 per cent of earnings went to modern-trade operators, while producers were given so little that they suffered food insecurity themselves. 

...

Kingkorn [Kingkorn Narintarakul Na Ayutthaya, BioThai’s deputy director.] said the trend is growing in the Asia region mainly because so many people live in cramped cities. “This type of trade could even kill fresh markets,” she said. 

Food-security advocates and economists say that, although markets and modern outlets have decided to put clean food on their shelves, they still ignore the mainstay of organic food – sustainable agriculture and fair trade – which is leaving farmers at the source of the food chain hungry. 

They blame the trend on consumers’ drive to be healthier. In their hunger for clean food, few people think about the producers who are critical to the food chain and its sustainability. 

Independent economist Sarinee Achavanuntakul, founder of Sal Forest – a company that promotes sustainable business growth – said her research shows there are different terms used to define organic products and “health food”, and the market values of these two categories are vastly different. 

For instance, she said, organic products generated around Bt1 billion last year, while health food earned Bt170 billion – a clear reflection on consumption trends and perception. 

She said the biggest challenge for clean products and markets was maintaining their value at competitive levels'.

Double

The best news on rice production in Cambodia may well be from an official news source, the Agence Kampuchea Presse (Jun. 5):

'Demand for organic rice is on the upturn both in domestic and international markets, according to local media report.
The report examined the trend grounding on positive performance of a leading local non-governmental organisation known as CEDAC – Cambodian Centre for Study and Development in Agriculture – that promotes organic rice growing and exports.
CEDAC Executive Director Mr. Sam Vitou was quoted claiming that his organisation has so far purchased almost 5,000 tons of organic rice from farmers – the amount that doubles last year, thanks to the increasing demand for the product.
According to the executive director, the increase has been driven by both local and international markets; and the current biggest markets for the organic rice are the United States of America and Hong Kong of China.
Inspired by the trend, CEDAC is expected to encourage some 2,500 farmer households in ten provinces of Cambodia to produce 12,000 tons of organic rice for 2017-2018.
The exporting organic rice, emphasised the source, undergoes standardised technical testing for harmful chemical substances in order to guarantee the product quality among the customers'.

Meanwhile officialdom is still in a quandary as to what to call Cambodian rice. Or better said, how to market Cambodian rice produce. The Khmer Times (Jun. 5):

'Government task forces will meet this week to finalise a single brand under which Cambodian rice will be exported.
Those at the meeting will include the Cambodia Rice Federation, the Agriculture Ministry and the Commerce Ministry.
“We don’t know when the exact date for registration will be because they just applied for registration last week,” said Op Rady, director of the intellectual property rights department of the Ministry of Commerce.
“We have talked several times. The CRF wants to use the name Angkor Malis but the Agriculture Ministry suggested it reconsider the name.
Hean Vanhan, director-general the general directorate of agriculture, said registration of a single rice brand was the duty of the commerce ministry.
Agriculture officials said Cambodia had more than 10 varieties of fragrant rice, and should not single out one as a single brand.
...
He suggested that a non-specific ‘Angkor Rice,’ with the specific variety written underneath would help clear up the confusion and prevent people from thinking they were buying a specific rice variety when they might be buying a different premium rice'.

Rice storage means good. The Khmer Times (Jun. 7):

'Rice millers can expect a certain degree of price stability in their exports with the construction of a 200,000-tonne capacity rice warehouse and a 3,000-tonne silo facility in Battambang province'.

But is the following still good? The Phnom Penh Post (Jul. 3):

'A proposal for a massive warehouse and silo that has attracted two Chinese investors aims to fill the Kingdom’s conspicuous gap in paddy rice storage capacity, which still falls 60 percent short of the level needed for the country to achieve its goal of 1 million tonnes of annual rice exports.
Private Chinese firms Jilin Province Investment Group Co Ltd and Jilin Tianzhong Agriculture Development Co Ltd signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday with local conglomerate Soma Group to build a “huge” storage facility to serve Cambodia’s rice producers.
According to Hun Lak, vice president of the Cambodia Rice Federation, the companies will conduct a feasibility study to determine the location and investment size of the initial storage complex, with Battambang and Takeo provinces favoured. Additional storage facilities could be developed in other areas, he said'.

And then some news on how international donors keep the ball rolling. The Cambodia Daily (Jun. 21):

'A World Bank subsidiary will soon start training 2,000 farmers contracted to supply a leading Cambodian rice exporter on how to meet an international farming standard.
The International Finance Corporation will work with Amru Rice over three years to implement the U.N.-led Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) in Kompong Cham province, the two organizations announced on Tuesday in a statement.
Farmers will be scored on 46 criteria, including record keeping, seed variety, pesticide choice, water management and the use of child labor.
Hean Vanhorn, deputy director-general at the Agriculture Ministry, said it was the first time the standard was being introduced to the sector, and explained that the project could help contract farmers market their paddy rice'.

Bird conservation and dry season rice cropping. A very interesting article though the obvious outcome may well be depressing. Conservation.com (Jun. 20):

'I’d been in Cambodia six weeks, and this was one of the last villages left to survey. I was researching the impact of local communities’ livelihoods on a critically endangered bustard species; the Bengal florican (Houbaropsis bengalensis). Fewer than 1,500 florican remain globally, over 60% of which seasonally reside in the grasslands of Kampong Thom province, central Cambodia.
Male florican are distinctive. If you’re lucky, between February and April you may spy their beautiful black and white bodies leaping 30 metres into the air; performing to impress shy females. However, opportunities for encountering such moments are increasingly rare. In recent decades florican have undergone dramatic population declines, initially driven by over-hunting, but now by widespread habitat loss, primarily due to rice cultivation.
...
It was believed dry season rice was typically grown between December and March. However, my interviews revealed that nearly half of all dry season rice farmers now farm two crops of rice a year, extending the rice cultivation season into June. This is a relatively recent and previously undocumented trend, with significant implications for florican, who visit grasslands from February to July. Expansion of dry season rice not only means less habitat is available for floricans to forage and breed, but it also reduces the time for which it is available. Floricans return to the same large territories each year to mate. This means the miniscule populations that remain are likely returning to increasingly sub-optimal habitat.
In addition, around 95% of the dry season rice farmers I spoke to said that they use fertiliser or pesticides on their crop. Many have to borrow money in order to do so, and sometimes if their crops fail or the market collapses, they may find themselves indebted to credit lenders, forced to sell land to clear their debts. There are also considerable environmental and ecological implications. Agro-chemicals not only reduce food availability, but they typically include substances banned in the West, including DDT, a chemical known to cause egg thinning in birds'.

Peace
Thailand is in the throes of the aftermath of the democratically endorsed and highly popular rice pledging scheme, which current junta uses as a stick to thrash it's democratic predecessor. The Asian Correspondent (Jun. 28):

'IN an editorial this week, Bangkok-based daily The Nation issued a crucial reminder to the country – let cooler heads prevail when the curtains close on Yingluck Shinawatra’s rice subsidy case.
The popular English-language broadsheet’s editors said the outcome of the case, whichever way it goes, has the potential of turning what they described as a period of “suspenseful peace” into one of major uproar'.

Oddly it ends the article thus:

'The only way to avoid turmoil and this “vicious cycle” of unrest, they said, is by calmly looking at evidence from both sides with open minds before passing judgment'.

As if the Thai judiciary normally functions differently.

The Bangkok Post (Jul. 1) mentions on-subject:

'The Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) has pushed forward with its investigation into allegations of corruption in the rice-pledging scheme by inviting for questioning suspects in five cases, the PACC chief says'.

Meanwhile the old crop is getting sold. Bangkok Post (Jun. 7):

'The National Rice Policy Committee has approved the 16.56-billion-baht sale of 1.66 million tonnes of old rice to auction winners, leaving only 160,000 tonnes of edible rice in the stockpile.
...
Since the May 2014 coup, the military government has sold more than 14 million tonnes of old rice by auction, fetching about 130 billion baht. The Commerce Ministry plans to call for bids for old rice fit for animal feed this month, and for ethyl alcohol production next month'.

What this means for the market. The Bangkok Post (Jun 20):

'With state rice stockpiles nearly sold off and major rice-producing nations suffering bad weather, Thai rice exports are likely to hit a record high this year, say government and industry officials.
Thailand's 2017 rice exports are tipped to reach 11 million tonnes, the most ever, because of rising demand in rice-importing countries at a time that production in grower countries is falling.
...
But Thai rice supply is limited because of the 2016 drought and the government's policy to encourage farmers to switch to other lucrative crops such as sugar, which has substantially cut supply from the off-season crop dropped by more than 40% from 9-10 million tonnes on average over the past few years to just 5 million tonnes this year, according to data supplied by the Agriculture Ministry'.

So what does the current regime plan? The Bangkok Post (Jun. 28):

'The cabinet yesterday approved a rice insurance scheme for the first crop of the 2017 season, worth 2 billion baht.
...
The government expects the scheme to cover 25-30 million rai of rice farmland. The scheme covers six natural disasters: floods, drought, storms, cold, hail and fires'.

Foreign good
Over to Vietnam. Vietnam has it's own problems concerned with marketing their rice produce. Vietnamnet (Jun. 12):

'According to VIBIZ, the market research and analysis website owned by Global Yoilo JSC, 64 percent of rice in the domestic market is Vietnamese but is labeled as foreign rice so that sellers can make higher profits.
Meanwhile, 53 percent of consumers say they like foreign rice grown in Thailand, Cambodia and Japan.
A report of the company said of the 67 rice products in the domestic market, only 21 products are given Vietnamese names.
...
“Vietnamese prefer foreign rice because they hear Thai and Japanese farmers grow rice with high technologies,” he [Nguyen Van Nam, a renowned economist, and former head of the Trade Research Institute] explained. “They have no information about how rice is grown in Vietnam.”
“Therefore, merchants give foreign names to Vietnam’s rice to sell more products,” he said, adding that Vietnam only imports rice from Cambodia and Thailand in small quantities.
Tran Duy Quy, former head of the Institute of Agricultural Genetics of Vietnam, confirmed that Vietnam has been importing rice from Cambodia and Thailand, but in small quantities. As for the so called ‘Japanese rice’, this is Vietnam’s rice labeled as Japanese rice'.

Vietnam is trying to free up it's export process. Vietnamnet (Jun 21):

'The decree, replacing Decree 109/2010/NĐ-CP on rice export and business, is expected to take effect from January 1, 2018, after which businesses will be able to engage in the free trade of rice without quantitative restrictions.
The decree also removes regulations of criteria for businesses to be eligible to export rice, as well as the floor prices set for rice shipments.
...
Vo Minh Khai, director-general of Vien Phu Organic – Healthy Food Company from the southernmost province of Ca Mau, said that over the past years, rice enterprises that were small scale but produced high-quality rice had not been able to bring their products to the world market.
To export their rice, they had to depend on large companies as intermediaries. Therefore, revising the old decree would create a level-playing field for small rice export firms to proactively access the global market, Khai said.
The new document will also enable businesses to invest in producing high-quality products to compete with rivals from Thailand and Cambodia, he added'.

Likewise, the Hanoi Times (Jun. 24) reports on rice prices looking better:

'According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the demand for Vietnam’s 5 percent broken rice, has been rising, hitting 390 USD per tonne in the early days of June, against 360 USD per tonne to 380 USD per tonne in late May'.

Even without the dam future, Vietnam seems already to be vexed by Mekong upstream efforts which means less water in the delta. Vietnamnet (Jun. 20):

'According to Nguyen Nhan Quang, a river basin management expert, Thailand has had 990 more projects in the northeast on using Mekong’s water to serve irrigation in the area.
In Cambodia, the strategy on stepping up rice cultivation for export is being implemented, with the country seeking cooperation with foreign countries, mostly from China, to expand the irrigation network.In Laos, the current total irrigation area is 166,476 hectares, but the figure is expected to increase by 213,062 hectares by 2030.
As upstream countries try to expand water use, this will be a great challenge for Vietnam’s Mekong Delta'.

Into the deep
From the Phnom Penh Post (Jun. 21), an article about the downward trend for pepper growers:

'The rapid expansion of pepper cultivation in Cambodia coincides with the spice’s plummeting world prices, creating concerns that the glut of pepper ripening on vines across the Kingdom could further erode next season’s market prices and push the sector toward a collapse. Hean Vanhan, undersecretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, said large-scale planting in recent years, encouraged by the soaring prices, has significantly boosted Cambodia’s pepper production. He said total production doubled last year and has increased eight-fold since 2013, with the impact on supply magnified by similar output growth in other major pepper producing countries.
“According to our figures, the growth of pepper production has increased dramatically, but now the big concern for farmers is that the market has stagnated,” he said yesterday.
Ministry data show total pepper production rose to 20,054 tonnes this year, compared to 11,819 tonnes in 2016, and just 2,498 tonnes in 2013. More than 5,000 hectares are now cultivated with pepper, compared to just 400 hectares in 2013.
...
Rothsan [Var Rothsan, adviser to the Ministry of Commerce] added that the ministry was also working on developing a new collective trademark for Cambodian pepper aimed at raising the profile of locally produced, non-GI pepper in international markets – a move that could help reduce the reliance on Vietnamese brokers to access these markets.
...
Yin Sopha, executive director for Memot Dar Pepper Agriculture Development Cooperative, said the domestic farm-gate price of black pepper had fallen to $3.5 per kilo, well below the 2014 high tide mark of $10.5 per kilo. He added that the decline was driving farmers deep into debt'.

Cassava has also all the entrapment's associated with lower prices. The Phnom Penh Post (Jun. 27):

'Cassava prices in Cambodia experienced a sharp drop this month leading to heavy losses for smallholder farmers unable to quickly switch to more profitable crops and recoup their mounting losses, a provincial agriculture official said yesterday.
Faced with low prices of around 144 riel ($0.035) per kilo of fresh cassava at the beginning of the harvest season, which runs from December to April, farmers decided to delay collecting the starchy tuber, only to see prices plummet to a historical low of 108 riel ($0.026) per kilo earlier this month, explained Soy Sopath, agricultural director for Pailin province at the Ministry of Agriculture.
With a breakeven point of 180 riel ($0.044) for fresh cassava, the farmer’s fate went from bad to worse as they are now forced to sell their products at a large loss, he said.
...
Cassava, which is considered to be a cash crop in Cambodia as it is rarely consumed by locals, is popular to grow as it requires less water and fertilisers, and is less prone to disease than other crops, Sopath explained. The government has made numerous attempts to wean Cambodian farmers away from cassava, yet its cultivation continues to expand.
“Farmers keep harvesting cassava because it is not a complicated crop to grow, and its price might increase next season,” he said.
However, falling prices have seen a decline in cultivation in Pailin province, the heartland of cassava cultivation where 90 percent of farmers are involved in the sector. Total cultivation in the province decreased 20 percent this season compared to last, according to Sopath, who said he expected further decline as farmers look to other more profitable crops.
...
However, Soeng Sophary, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, explained that the Ministry of Agriculture and farmers needed to work together to collect and share information in order to better understand price trends in foreign markets so that farmers could time cassava cultivation to satisfy external demand.
“If farmers and agriculture officials cooperate and work smartly to find the right time for cultivation then they would not suffer from such heavy losses,” she said. “In order to add value to cassava, we need to have better quality standards and more technical expertise for processing it in factories.”

But not all alternatives are in the doldrums. The Phnom Penh Post (Jun. 7) reports on coconut oil.

'The Kingdom’s nascent coconut oil industry is facing a shortage of raw materials as local farmers look to make a quick profit by selling young coconuts to drink vendors rather than letting them mature and sell them to health care and cosmetics producers.
Khdib Sreymich, general manager of Coco Khmer, a Cambodia-based producer of virgin coconut oil, which also manufactures a line of coconut-based health and beauty products, said her company is forced to import coconuts from Vietnamese suppliers to meet consumer demand for the company’s products. She explained that the farmers preferred to sell the coconuts when they were young, though mature fruits, which can be sold for higher prices, are needed for coconut oil production.
According to Sreymich, domestic production can only satisfy 10 percent of the company’s demand for mature coconuts. The remaining 90 percent must be imported from Vietnam'.

And then corn. The Phnom Penh Post (Jun. 22):

'Growing demand for animal feed is driving up both the demand and price of corn, with smallholder farmers claiming the field crop offers a more stable market than cassava.
“If we look at the trends in farming, this sector [corn] has a lot more options than other crops, and is less challenging,” said Lor Reaksmey, spokesman of the Ministry of Agriculture. He added that corn, also known as maize, is needed for food consumption and animal feed mills, with high demand both in the domestic and international markets.
Corn is grown on more than 140,000 hectares in Cambodia and can be harvested twice a year, with the main areas of cultivation being Battambang, Preah Vihear and Kandal provinces. Each hectare yields about 4.5 tonnes, putting Cambodia’s total production at around 640,000 tonnes last year.
Reaksmey explained that over 60 percent of domestically produced corn is earmarked for export, with most of these shipments destined for feed mills in Thailand and Vietnam. The remainder is sold to the Kingdom’s feed mills, with a small amount purchased by local food-processing plants and retailers.
...
Ministry of Agriculture data shows total corn exports reached 70,487 tonnes last year, a 25 percent increase over 2015.
Despite this rise, local production cannot satisfy the voracious appetite of the Kingdom’s 15 feed mills, said Hort Pheng, director of the Industrial Affairs Department at the Ministry of Industry and Handicrafts'.

A Chinese agrofair in Phnom Penh. Phnom Penh Post (Jun. 29):

'A major international agricultural fair that brought over 800 Chinese companies to the capital wrapped up yesterday with none of the expected investment agreements signed as Chinese investors appeared cautious about setting up agro-processing facilities in the Kingdom, organisers said.
The inaugural International Agriculture Products and Expository kicked off on June 25, drawing some 800 investors from China and 200 local firms to a four-day expo aimed at showcasing the investment potential of Cambodia’s agricultural sector.
Chea Heng, president of the Cambodia-China Development Friendship Alliance (CCDFA), one the expo’s local organisers, said several major memoranda of understanding (MoUs) had been expected during the fair, but none materialised'.

Expiration date
We've focused earlier on the banana growing rage from China which has set up shop in Laos and northern Thailand. The Vientiane Times (Jun. 10) notes that banana growing is going out of fashion as the land leasers are being held to account:

'A number of banana farms in Oudomxay province have ceased operations after their contracts expired following numerous complaints from local residents that their operations were negatively affecting the environment.
The farms are operated by 11 concession holders. Seven companies are still continuing their operations but four companies’ contracts have expired and the authorities will not renew them.
A provincial Agriculture and Forestry Department official, Mr Bounyeun Xayyaven told Vientiane Times yesterday the 11 companies had concessions and rented the land of local residents to operate their banana farms, but four of those companies had ended their work after their contracts expired.
...
According to a National Assembly report in October last year, some provinces are using too many insecticides, pesticides and chemical fertilisers, but this issue did not feature in reports submitted to the Assembly.
Some people became ill and some allegedly died after pesticide was sprayed on farms, but the reports did not say where this had occurred'.