With a view to gaining wider market access, the farmers and producers of Cambodia’s peppercorn have been strengthening the quality, safety, sanitary and packaging of products.
The Cambodia Pepper and Spices Federation seeks to promote new markets in the Middle East and North Africa for pepper products, saying diversifying the market will benefit farmers and producers.
It has worked to connect with new buyers out there, said its president Mak Ny.
“Our pepper is of good quality, and the Federation is diversifying to various markets to help farmers and producers more,” Ny told Khmer Times.
Cambodia and the United Arab Emirates have recently ended their second round of the Cambodia-United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which is aimed at strengthening the traditional friendship between the two countries and enhancing bilateral relations.
The talks have also included pepper as a potential product, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
“Pepper is one of the country’s potential products included in the talks of the Cambodia-United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement,” the ministry said.
Ny applauded the move, saying it will cherish farmers by gaining wider market access.
“It is good that we have pepper among the potential products that Cambodia looks to export to the UEA market,” Ny said.
“Opening up new markets to boost agricultural exports is very important,” he said.
The area of pepper land is over 6,935 hectares, with an average yield of about 18 373 tons, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries report.
The Kingdom exported around 18,000 tons of pepper in the January-November period of last year. Vietnam is the biggest market for the country’s pepper export, the report pointed out.
Cambodia is listing down eligible pepper farms and processing firms for export directly to China under the newly-signed protocol agreement on pepper export to China.
Area of pepper land in Cambodia is over 6,935 hectares. Khmer Times
The protocol is expected to pave way for the two countries’ specialised ministries and institutions to continue negotiations on phytosanitary requirements to allow Cambodian pepper to be directly exported to China.
The Agriculture Ministry said that the official export of pepper to China is expected by early 2023 after a Chinese expert team comes to inspect and evaluate the farms and facilities.
However, challenges remain that need to be addressed, according to CPSF, saying that it continues to improve and produce quality and safe pepper to meet the market demand and international market competition.
To address the issue, the Ministry of Commerce has said that it plans to draft a pepper policy to increase market share, effective competition, and value-added prices to the pepper production chain in Cambodia.
The policy will mainly be focused on boosting organic and good agricultural practices in pepper plantations, said Var Roth San, head of the ministry’s advisor group, recently.
This article was first published in Khmer Times. All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.
