Prey Veng provincial authorities said they have received a request from rice traders at Banteay Chakrei International Border Checkpoint to allow Vietnamese traders to buy paddy inside Cambodia, as a measure to reduce costs.

A group of traders on March 6 confirmed to local media that before the outbreak of Covid-19, Vietnamese traders would buy paddy from Cambodian traders on the Kingdom’s side of the border.

Exporters said that when they delivered products to the border crossing, they would negotiate a price and when all sides agreed, drop the paddy into boats to take along the river that runs perpendicular to the international bridge. If the price was unacceptable, traders could just take the paddy elsewhere to sell.

But things have take a drastic turn – traders now have to drive across the border to the Vietnamese side. Upon arrival, they are forced to sell it to the Vietnamese, no matter the price, they said.

“If we do not sell, we do not have the money to pay for the parking fee. More importantly, every time we cross the border into Vietnam, we are very worried about being infected with Covid-19.

“Vietnamese workers swindle us by not weighing all the paddy from the bags. This is because Vietnamese authorities allow only one truck to enter their territory and the cost that both sides have to pay is about 100,000 riel ($25) per truck,” they said.

They said the paddy brought for sale at Banteay Chakrei is mostly from Pursat, Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, and Kampong Thom provinces.

Rice traders already have to pay extra money for transportation costs, and now they want authorities to intervene and allow Vietnamese traders to buy paddy on Cambodian territory.

Provincial administration spokesman Chheang Sovannara told The Post on March 7 that authorities would look into the request later.

“We are busy with main provincial-level work. This request has been accepted and a resolution will be made later,” he confirmed.

Khiev Hean, head of the immigration office at Banteay Chakrei International Border Checkpoint told The Post on March 7 that all he could do in his capacity is to speed up export procedures.

He said he cannot make a decision on whether to allow Vietnamese traders to enter Cambodian soil.

“My work is to make it easier for our people to transport agricultural products without congestion or damage to the quality of their products. We do whatever to export agricultural products to Vietnam quickly,” he said.

According to Hean, two-way transportation of products at the checkpoint remains as normal. The products from Vietnam are normally fish, vegetables, shrimp, meat and groceries, while goods exported from Cambodia to Vietnam are mainly mangos and paddy.

“All drivers passing this checkpoint have to apply health measures like using sanitisers. We will not be careless and allow Covid-19 to spread through this checkpoint,” he said.

Eang Kimly, the provincial coordinator for rights group Adhoc, told The Post on March 7 that local authorities should find the right solution to help these traders.

“They cannot solve the problem that’s why they depend on the authorities. They depend on the income from their products. If they sell them cheap, they cannot to pay for fertiliser and other services,” she said.