Cambodia exported 134,079 tonnes of corn in the first five months of this year, representing an increase of 276.23 per cent over the 35,637 tonnes recorded in the year-ago period, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Chan Sok, a red corn trader in northwestern Battambang province’s Phnom Proek district, told The Post that farmers in the area had sold all their stock, but that the new harvest season would start next month.

The corn he buys from local growers each year, in all its forms – fresh, dried and seeds – is then sold to traders in Thailand, he said.

"Prices and corn yields from last harvest were better than in 2020," Sok claimed.

Corn is typically harvested twice a year, between late June and August and then again between late October and February, he said.

According to Battambang provincial Department of Commerce director Kim Hout, about 80 per cent of the province's red corn output is exported by traders to Thailand, while the remainder is supplied to local animal feed company CP Cambodia Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group).