Cambodia’s fisheries export slumped by over 84 percent during January-September, according to the Cambodian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
The country ships fisheries products mainly to Vietnam and Thailand.
In the past nine months, export of freshwater aquatic products fell by 78 percent to 1,498 tonnes from 7,000 tonnes last year, while shipments of processed seafood sank 94 percent year-on-year from 3,980 tonnes to 232 tonnes.
Cambodian Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Veng Sakhon attributed falling export to rising domestic demand along with declining fishing yields and aquaculture output.
He said the ministry is promoting fish farming through the EU-funded CaPFish-Capture and CaPFish Aquaculture projects in a bid to boost the household economy and food security.
Natural fish catches have greatly reduced due to the low water levels of the Tonle Sap Lake, which is the largest nesting site for fish in Cambodia.
From January-September, production of farmed fish and shrimp hit more than 296,500 tonnes, up from 245,578 tonnes. VNA
This article was first published in Khmer Times. All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.
