Mango is likely to be the next product that Cambodia exports directly to China, according to an official of the Agriculture Ministry.
The ministry recently called on farmers growing ‘prioritised’ agricultural goods to register with the ministry in exchange for assistance to help them meet China’s stringent sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) requirements, the Khmer Times reported on Wednesday.
However, only farms growing mango have registered thus far, according to Ke Monyvuth, director of the ministry’s crop protection and SPS Department.
As a result, ministry officials are now providing technical assistance to several mango farms to help them meet China’s SPS standards before they are inspected by a delegation of Chinese officials.
Monyvuth said on Tuesday that a team from China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine will visit Cambodia next month to conduct inspections at registered farmers.
“We expect that fresh mangoes will be the next agricultural product that Cambodia exports to China and we are now working to provide technical assistance to farmers to prepare for the requirements of the Chinese market,” Monyvuth said.
In July, the ministry made public a list of the agricultural goods that are being prioritised for export to China. The list contained six items – fresh mango, longan, pepper, dragon fruit, fragrant coconut, and bird nests.
Agriculture Minister Veng Sakhon said recently that Cambodia wants to open negotiations on the shipment of all ‘prioritised’ agricultural goods, and has proposed the idea to China’s General Administration of Customs, who is in charge of SPS requirements.
According to Monyvuth, China has not yet provided a reply to the proposal.
“We want negotiations on the six agricultural products to take place simultaneously. This will save us time and will allow us to start shipping these products to China sooner,” Monyvuth said.
Cambodia earlier this year started shipping bananas to the Chinese market after the countries signed a protocol on banana exports in August last year.
The other products that the Kingdom can export directly to the world’s second-largest economy are milled rice, sliced cassava, and corn.