Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Wafers made from hill area rice set to expand overseas

Wafers made from hill area rice set to expand overseas

Content image - Phnom Penh Post
An advert for Amru Rice (Cambodia) Co Ltd’s organic rice paper in the Netherlands, sold under the ‘Amaizin’ brand. SUPPLIED

Wafers made from hill area rice set to expand overseas

Local rice miller and exporter Amru Rice (Cambodia) Co Ltd is looking for distributors and importers based in Australia, France, the US and UK for edible organic rice paper sheets made from ingredients sourced from small-scale farmers in the hilly regions of north and northeastern Cambodia.

The rice wafers – called “banh trang” in Vietnamese and “sambak nem”, “kuy teav moul”, among other names in Khmer – is steamed rice dough that is cut into thin slices and then typically sun-dried. They are traditionally used to make spring rolls and other regional finger-food favourites.

Amru CEO Song Saran told The Post that the company recently rolled out the product, determined to lift up smallholder farmers living in the remote hilly areas of Preah Vihear and Mondulkiri provinces – some of them from ethnic minority backgrounds – and guarantee them adequate incomes to support their families.

The initiative envisages to support local products and link poor producers into the supply chain, based on the credo that “no one be left unattended”, he said.

He posited that growers who follow organic standards will encourage companies to enter into partnerships with them, thereby moving a step closer towards securing a decent income and procuring a comfortable livelihood.

In an invitation to the general public, Saran said: “Your support in buying this product [rice paper] will help to improve the lives of smallholder farmers, especially the ethnic minority ones.”

Orders for Amru’s organic rice sheets are piling up in Denmark and the Netherlands, he enthused, adding that the company was looking for partners to tackle the Australian, French, US and UK markets, where he said consumer demand is strong. Germany too appears to be firmly in his sights.

“We strive to produce rice paper that meets the organic standards of EU and US specifications, and we have the capacity to do so,” Saran said. “We’ve just recently developed these wafers, which are tasty, high quality and up to standards, and are able to compete on the market.”

Amru has reportedly shipped 20 tonnes of the organic wafers to Denmark and the Netherlands over the past eight months, and is ramping up production to fulfil orders there.

The company says it is on track to export about 40 tonnes this year, and has affirmed its commitment to boost exports of natural Cambodian products.

The rice sheets have also seen a significant level of interest and support from Cambodians, which the firm greets as a welcome trend.

MOST VIEWED

  • Wing Bank opens new branch in front of Orkide The Royal along Street 2004

    Wing Bank celebrates first anniversary as commercial bank with launch of brand-new branch. One year since officially launching with a commercial banking licence, Wing Bank on March 14 launched a new branch in front of Orkide The Royal along Street 2004. The launch was presided over by

  • Siem Reap airport to close after new one opens

    After the new Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport (SAI) opens in October, the existing complex serving the northwestern province will be “completely closed”, according to State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA) spokesman Sin Chansereyvutha. SAI developer Angkor International Airport Investment (Cambodia) Co Ltd (AIAI) last month

  • Girl from Stung Meanchey dump now college grad living in Australia

    After finishing her foundational studies at Trinity College and earning a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Melbourne in 2022, Ron Sophy, a girl who once lived at the Stung Meanchey garbage dump and scavenged for things to sell, is now working at a private

  • Rare plant fetches high prices from Thai, Chinese

    Many types of plants found in Cambodia are used as traditional herbs to treat various diseases, such as giloy or guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia) or aromatic/sand ginger (Kaempferia galangal) or rough cocklebur (Xanthium Strumartium). There is also a plant called coral, which is rarely grown

  • Ministry using ChatGPT AI to ‘ease workload’; Khmer version planned

    The Digital Government Committee is planning to make a Khmer language version of popular artificial intelligence (AI) technology ChatGPT available to the public in the near future, following extensive testing. On March 9, the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications revealed that it has been using the

  • Cambodia returns 15M Covid jabs to China

    Prime Minister Hun Sen said Cambodia will return 15 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to China for donation to other countries. The vaccines in question were ordered but had not yet arrived in Cambodia. While presiding over the Ministry of Health’s annual meeting held on