Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Chinese firm plans to invest in cotton if second test a success

Chinese firm plans to invest in cotton if second test a success

Content image - Phnom Penh Post
A Battambang province farmer shows off his cotton crop. Heng Chivoan

Chinese firm plans to invest in cotton if second test a success

Chinese company Jiangsu Lianfa Textile Co Ltd plans to invest in cotton in Pursat province to process fabrics and supply the Kingdom’s garment factories, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Following successful preliminary crop tests, Jiangsu Lianfa is preparing a second test on 180ha in the province’s Bakan district, said the ministry, adding that the firm brought more than 40 varieties of cotton seeds for the test.

The investment project comes a year after Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Veng Sakhon visited the company in China’s Jiangsu province last year, it said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

The cotton industry declined during the Khmer Rouge era when nearly all agricultural resources were allocated to rice production.

Between 1965 and 1975, the industry – established by the French – thrived, and thousands of acres of the crop were harvested each year.

Although cotton production continued under the Pol Pot regime, a lack of a market and years of insect infestation led Cambodian farmers to all but give up on it by 1985.

A ministry spokesman Srey Vuthy said Jiangsu Lianfa also planned to build a processing plant but did not know when.

“I think that if this project is successful, it will help restore the cotton industry in Cambodia,” he said.

Provincial Department of Agriculture director Lay Visith told The Post that he and senior ministry officials on Tuesday visited the field.

“I see they are clearing the land and digging a pond, I don’t think they’ll start for at least two more years. I hope that the people living in Pursat province will be able to find new jobs in cotton planting,” said Visith.

He said the company is still in the process of crop testing 44 different kinds of varieties from China.

“They have been tested for their yields, weather and disease resilience, and adaptability to our soil. They’ll probably run two or three seasons worth of tests,” he said.

Garment factories are the engine for the Kingdom’s manufacturing sector. However, raw materials have to be imported.

Sok Vanna, deputy director of the ministry’s Department of Industrial Crop, said if a Chinese company were to set up a cotton mill in Cambodia, farmers would flock to cotton planting.

“I say that it’s good if a company plants cotton, there may be farmers who turn to grow cotton instead because they see a demand for it and high prices. They could become interested in cotton growing,” he said.

MOST VIEWED

  • 12th Cambodia int’l film festival to see return of Hollywood star

    Phnom Penh is set to come alive with the magic of cinema as the highly anticipated 12th Cambodia International Film Festival (CIFF) takes centre stage. Boasting an impressive line-up of 188 films from 23 countries, including captivating shorts, feature films, documentaries and animation, the festival promises an

  • Brawl marrs football final as Indonesian take gold in seven goal thriller

    The Indonesian men's U22 men national football team were crowned champions of the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia, defeating Thailand 5-2 in extra time on May 16 at Olympic National Stadium in Phnom Penh. The match was marred by an ugly incident that occured in the 91

  • Bareknuckle champion wants Kun Khmer fighter

    Dave Leduc, who is the current openweight Lethwei boxing champion in Myanmar, has announced that he will travel to Cambodia this year to challenge SEA Games gold medallist Prum Samnang any time that is convenient, after their planned match later this month in Slovakia was

  • Candlelight Party disqualified from July general election

    The National Election Committee (NEC) has disqualified the Candlelight Party (CP) from contesting the upcoming general election, citing a lack of valid documentation. NEC spokesman Khorn Keomono said the CP failed to fulfil one of the three main requirements: including original documentation proving their registration

  • Thong Khon calls for orderly SEA Games closing ceremony

    Thong Khon, Minister of Tourism and permanent vice-president of the Cambodia SEA Games Organising Committee (CAMSOC), calls on all people who have received tickets to the May 17 closing ceremony of the biennial multi-sports extravaganza at the Morodok Techo National Stadium to ensure that the event

  • 1.4 billion dollar Phnom Penh-Bavet expressway due in four years

    The Government, through the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, has officially signed a public-private partnership agreement with a private company for the construction of a Phnom Penh-Bavet Expressway project that will connect the capital to Svay Rieng province. The budget for the project is