A senior official of the Ministry of Commerce has said the ministry is considering whether to proceed with or cancel the Cambodian Products Exhibition in Banteay Meanchey as a key part of the “Buy Cambodian Campaign”.
Seang Thay, secretary of state at the Ministry of Commerce, said the exhibition is scheduled to be celebrated between Dec 24 and 27.
He said that the programme was set before the Nov 28 Community Incident, when Cambodia found the first COVID-19 transmission in the community in the first 11 months of the year.
“Because the exhibition is a bit distant from now, the ministry is considering whether to continue organising or cancelling it to help combat the spread of COVID-19.” He added the ministry will inform the public later of their decision.
Thay added the Cambodian Products Exhibition is a key part of the “Buy Cambodia” campaign that was launched four years ago. This exhibition has been fully supported by local authorities, companies, producers, customers and relevant stakeholders.
He said that the event is important because it promotes the use of locally roduced goods and that helps reduce the flow of foreign goods into Cambodia.
Thay added it also transfers knowledge to local producers that aids them in producing goods thigh in quality, hygiene and safety, attractively packaged at a low cost that makes them competitive with imported products.
He said the event will help Cambodia to create a good business environment that improves local commerce, to increase production capacity and maximise value-added on local products, to aid the creation of new products that meet local demand and promote the export of those products as well as reduce imports, to diversify new products that can compete in national, regional and global markets and help the creation of new jobs, increase income, help against worker migration and contribute to poverty reduction.
The ministry said that 2020 is the year when the whole world was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and it has damaged economic and business activities in the Kingdom and globally.
It added that in order to contribute to restore the national economy after the COVID-19 crisis, the ministry set out to organise the Cambodian Products Exhibition in Banteay Meanchey.
The event was designed to connect the economic relationship between the capital and provinces across the country and contribute to national development.
The ministry will also act on the quality and standard of local products for the safety of consumers from across the country and to display and seek partnerships during the event.
This article was first published in Khmer Times. All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.
