THE manager of a local agribusiness says he plans to export about 1,000 tonnes of cotton to Vietnam later this quarter or the beginning of next year, in what would be the Kingdom’s largest export order of cotton since the end of the Khmer Rouge period.

Kong Chan, managing director of Seladamex Co, said Monday he had been in negotiations with firms across the border as well as with those from South Korea and China, although no deals had yet been finalised.

“However, we expect to firstly export about 1,000 tonnes to Vietnam this December or early next year,” he said.

The company, which was founded in 2007 with US$2 million in capital for a cotton-processing plant and 106-hectare plantation in Battambang province, would set a milestone should the order go ahead, said Kong Chan.

“Cotton cropping was abandoned by most farmers since the post-Khmer Rouge era because of a lack of markets … and cheap prices,” he said.

He said he was buying additional cotton from farmers in the province for $400 a tonne and planned to export it, once processed, for $1,500 a tonne.