The Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) will launch the “Malys Angkor” brand in mid-2021 and require all rice millers and exporters to attach its label to their products bound for China and the EU, its president Song Saran said on December 30.
He said the Kingdom exported around 700,000 tonnes of milled rice in 2020, 80 per cent of which was the in-vogue fragrant rice.
The CRF also plans to export the Sen Kra’op 01 rice cultivar for the first time, he said.
Sen Kra’op 01 is a high-quality and delectable variant of rice that was developed in 2018 by the Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) in collaboration with the Australian government through the Cambodia-Australia Agricultural Value Chain programme (CAVAC).
Saran said: “We will continue to work to boost our high quality milled rice exports. We look forward to continuing to work to improve the livelihoods of those in the Cambodian rice industry.
“We truly thank all our partners and I send the most cordial blessings to the countries that import milled rice from Cambodia and our partners.”
Mekong Oryza Trading Co Ltd CEO Hun Lak told The Post that “Malys Angkor” is in the same grouping of Cambodian luxury milled rice that is exported to the global market.
He said: “We have already registered the fragrant rice ‘Malys Angkor’ with the Ministry of Commerce and the World [Trade] Organisation, so in 2021 we want to export rice officially using the ‘Malys Angkor’ brand and the rice millers owners and exporters must comply with the standards and norms to promote recognition of “Malys Angkor” in the world market.”
At the same time, he said, the CRF and exporters are busy promoting the export of Sen Kra’op 01. He confirmed that this type of milled rice is recognised by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries as a bona-fide fragrant rice variety with high yields that is not seasonal and which farmers like to grow.
“I think rice exports will continue to be stable or grow as demand in the agricultural sector . . . remains high. As long as we maintain a balance in quality, quantity and competitive prices, we will maintain this export growth,” Lak said.
Saran recalled that 2020 had been the most difficult year for the rice sector, due to the effects of the EU’s tariffs on Cambodian milled-rice exports, the Covid-19 crisis, the droughts and the floods, and the shipping crisis in the last quarter of the year.
But, he said, Cambodia is still a proud milled-rice exporter, which supplies and ensures food security to countries in the region and beyond.
He added that even under these difficult circumstances, Cambodia had still been able to export more than $470 million worth of milled rice in 2020.
Cambodia exports most of its milled rice, buoyed by rising consumer recognition in markets such as mainland China, Hong Kong, Gabon and Australia.
“Cambodia’s milled rice has been growing in the right direction and will reach the official export of one million tonnes through sustainable production and will provide socio-economic benefits to communities in all value chains,” Saran said.
