A Cambodian government official urged China’s new ambassador to the Kingdom yesterday to speed up a $300 million loan aimed at building rice storage facilities across the country, a nearly two-year-old request that has seen little traction as Cambodia’s rice sector continues to struggle, state-owned media outlet AKP reported.

Deputy Prime Minister Hor Namhong told China’s ambassador to Cambodia, Xiong Bo, that the country desperately needs the funds and asked China to buy 300,000 tonnes of Cambodian rice annually.