The Cambodia Pepper and Spices Federation (CPSF) is assisting 25 local Cambodian businesses working in the agriculture sector with tactical approaches to enter the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) markets.
CPSF in collaboration with Feed the Future Cambodia Harvest II has launched the “Export Mission to the Middle East and North Africa”, a new digital export programme aimed at providing significant assistance and expertise to Cambodian businesses and establishing exports to the MENA region.
Facilitated by a recent grant from Harvest II, working through business development, product development, investment and export planning stages, the companies will develop personalised export maps and business models to strategically launch into the export market.
Selected companies will also participate in the digital “Middle East Organic and Natural Products Expo” in Dubai to introduce and promote Cambodian brands to the MENA region for the first time and unlock export opportunities by connecting with new buyers.
President of Cambodia Pepper and Spices Federation Mak Ny said the programme is designed to provide an opportunity for Cambodia’s agricultural sector to seek out, open and penetrate the new market in the Middle East and North Africa.
“Working directly with the government, CPSF will support economic development to promote Cambodia’s agricultural products to the global market,” Ny said.
Chief of Party from Harvest II Nimish Jhaveri said selected small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from Cambodia’s horticulture sector will be presenting their products and capabilities to commercial buyers and exploring export opportunities in the region.
“As Cambodian companies increase awareness of international market requirements, many have adopted new standards of product quality, packaging and safety for customers and are building new export capabilities into their organisations,” Jhaveri said.
Seang Thay, secretary of state at the Ministry of Commerce, applauded the project, saying that boosting exports based on technology and digital platforms is in line with the current adoption of Industry 4.0.
“The Export Mission to the Middle East and North Africa will create a hope that will further promote the reputation of Cambodian agricultural products on the international markets and as a bridge for trade relations on pepper products and other spices between Cambodian businessmen and traders in the Middle East and North Africa,” Thay said.
“This mission is in line with the trade promotion activities that the Ministry of Commerce has been implementing to promote Cambodian products.”
Producers and exporters should strengthen their products with quality, safety, sanitary and packaging to build confidence among buyers and consumers in the MENA region, said Hun Lak, president of Rich Farm Asia Co Ltd. “As a company that focuses on growing fruit and vegetables… and investing in the processing of agricultural products for export to international markets, the company has already exported to China with the support of the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries,” he said. “For now, opening up new markets to boost agricultural exports to the MENA countries is very important.
Cambodia exported 5.54 million tonnes of agricultural products in the first eight months of 2021, up 89.7 percent from 2.92 million tonnes over the same period last year, to 66 countries and regions.
This article was first published in Khmer Times. All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.
