Cambodia exported 3.9 million tonnes of agricultural products in the first half of 2023, earning $2.4 billion in revenue, according to a report from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) yesterday. The export value of agricultural products decreased year-on-year by 22.5 percent, the ministry said.

Cambodia’s agricultural exports included rice, bananas, mangoes, cassava, cashew nuts, corn, palm oil, pepper and tobacco, among others, the report said. The volume of milled rice export was nearly 330,000 tons, earning $281 million; paddy rice at 1.2 million tons ($447 million); and non-rice agricultural products at 2.3 million tonnes ($1,672 million).

The agricultural products were exported to 65 countries. The global economic crisis, climate change and demand for high agricultural product-related raw material for processing domestically are factors behind the decrease in agricultural exports, said Ngin Chhay, Director-General at the ministry’s General Directorate of Agriculture.

“Due to the global economic crisis, orders decreased and trade flows were disrupted and some crop production is declining due to uncertain market conditions and climate change, affecting crop yields and quality,” Chhay said in the report.

Additionally, the increase in the absorption of domestic raw materials for animal feed production and processing in the country, resulting in the increase in the absorption of fresh products for processing, also made agricultural product exports decrease, he added.

“Increasing of processing locally has absorbed agricultural-product-related raw materials, contributing to increased value added to the crop production chain,” Chhay said. Agriculture is one of the four pillars supporting Cambodia’s economy. The agricultural sector remains  an important pillar of the  

economy, despite its declining contribution to the national economy due to the rise of industry and services, Prime Minister Hun Sen said in June.

The use of machinery in agriculture is on the rise towards agricultural modernisation, while the use of cattle for agricultural work contributes little, he said.

The agricultural production in recent years has been growing steadily, especially fruits such as bananas, mangoes and cashews, said the Prime Minister, who boosted investment for processing facilities locally for cashew nuts into finished products.

“Cambodia can become a cashew distributing country, that is one of the largest distributors because in one year Cambodia exported 1 million tonnes of unprocessed cashew nuts,” the premier said.