Mango farmers in Teng Troyoeung commune of Kampong Speu province announced on Monday the creation of a new Keo Romeat Mango Association, aimed at boosting the area’s sales.

The association was established by 32 mango farmers from the commune, most of them retired public servants with large mango plantations totalling more than 1,000 hectares.

Oum Sareoun, president of Keo Romeat Mango Association, said yesterday that the association hopes to increase its member base and strengthen the export standard of the fruit.

“We will have a specific working group charged with seeking new markets for the association’s members,” Sareoun said.

Sareoun added that new and existing members will need to pay $50 per year for their membership.

Mong Riththy, president of Mong Riththy Group, a parent company of a newly established mango exporter called King Fruits International welcomed the association’s establishment.

“It is a good initiative to set up the group for mango farmers to hopefully work with buyers or find sustainable markets,” he said.

“In the past, each farmer has exported their product one by one, but now we just go straight to the association.”

Rithy said his company will export up to 6,000 tonnes of Cambodian mangos to China and Korea during the 2015 harvest season, with the vast majority of the stock expected to come from mango farmers located in Kampong Speu province.