Kith Meng, head of the Cambodian conglomerate Royal Group, has nominated himself for chairperson of the newly created Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF), according to the Ministry of Commerce’s finalised short list obtained by the Post yesterday.

Nominated in his capacity as director general of ANZ Royal Group, Meng will be running against Yorn Sovann, president of Bayon Cereal Company; Lim Bunheng, president of Cambodia Rice Exporters; Sok Puthyvuth, president of Soma Group and son of Deputy Prime Minister Sok An; and Te Taing Por, chairman of the Federation of Associations of Small and Medium-size Enterprise of Cambodia in a May election.

Meng, also the president of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce, could not be reached for comment.

Fellow candidate, Taing Por told the Post that his own experience working with small businesses put him in strong stead for the highly coveted role.

“For me, I don’t want to get anything from this. What I want is to boost and promote the sector to achieve the goal,” Por said, referring to the government’s goal of a million tonnes of rice to be exported by 2015.

The ministry announced the creation of the CRF last month, a leading industry body tasked with improving the sector’s competitiveness overseas.

The Federation of Cambodian Rice Exporters released a statement yesterday urging rice millers and exporters to apply for membership of the CRF, a status that grants voting rights in May’s election.