Cambodian and South Korean businessmen on Sunday discussed the possibility of exporting the Kingdom’s fresh bananas to South Korea this year following positive signs from the market, a representative told Khmer Times yesterday.
Last week, representatives of the Korean Importers Association and a local exporter, Longmate Agriculture, discussed the possibility of conducting another study on transportation, production and marketing costs before deciding to scale up production for exports, the company’s director said.
“We need to study everything from plantations to the market in South Korea to find potential and possibility of gains. We can test the market by exporting a few containers initially. The representatives came to check our production process last week,” Hun Lak said.
“Overall, after discussion and visiting the plantation, the Korean delegation saw that the standard was high, and they have been optimistic about the market test. However, some procedures are pending, including the registration of products,” he pointed out.
Last week, the Cambodian Embassy in the Republic of Korea organised a meeting between Cambodian business representatives led by the Commerce Minister and South Korean businesses to discuss the possibility of exporting agricultural products from Cambodia to the South Korean market.
Hun Lak further explained that it has been disruptive for countries in the region such as Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia to export agricultural products to China, which has imposed zero-Covid Policy since last February. Cambodia’s banana exports to China decreased by 10 percent compared to the exports in the previous year.
According to a report released by the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries, Cambodia’s export of fresh bananas to China has fallen 13 percent to 98,530 tonnes in the first three months of this year compared to the same period
last year.
This article was first published in Khmer Times. All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.
