The price of milled rice in Cambodia could rise up to 20 percent in coming months as world food stocks are under threat due to the prolonging Russia-Ukraine war and the rise in the cost of inputs used for rice production.
The price of the commodity is predicted to increase between 10 percent and 20 percent of the current price, said Lun Yeng, Secretary General of the Cambodian Rice Federation (CRF), citing the price increase.
The price of gasoline and fertiliser are also factors pushing up the price of commodities, Yeng said.
“We observe that the rice stocks in the international market are running low because the production is declining everywhere due to a rise in the prices of fertilisers and fuel. Seeing the price of gasoline and fertilisers, some farmers have sought other work,” Yeng said.
The price of Cambodia’s premium rice is currently at $840 per tonne.
UN officials recently warned that the prolonged war between Russia and Ukraine would worsen the global food crisis.
The head of the UN’s World Food Programme, David Beasley, told the World Economic Forum that food prices have now risen sharply and that if Ukraine’s port of Odesa is not opened, it will escalate more problems.
The CRF has boosted the exports of rice to international markets, especially Europe, despite rising shipping costs.
“For the remaining months this year, we expect that the export of commodities will continue as usual despite the transport fee hike because our rice is mostly premium rice and our markets – the EU, China, and Asean – have remained stable,” Yeng said.
According to the report of the Cambodian Rice Federation, in the first four months of 2022, Cambodia exported more than 220,000 tonnes of rice to the international markets, earning more than $139 million.
Of which, the Kingdom exported 68,555 tonnes to Europe, an equivalent of 31 percent, for $51 million.
Additionally, Cambodia exported 1.6 million tonnes of paddy rice during the period to Vietnam, earning $376.6 million.
According to the report of the Ministry of Agriculture, as of April, the dry season rice harvest reached more than 630,000 hectares, with a total yield of more than 2.9 million tonnes.
This article was first published in Khmer Times. All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.
