The Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) is actively exploring ways to boost Cambodian milled rice exports to China via a strategic partnership with Alibaba, according to Chan Sokheang, the vice-president of CRF.

Sokheang revealed that CRF has already engaged in three meetings with representatives from Alibaba.

The federation is now anticipating a proposal from the e-commerce giant to launch a dedicated promotional campaign for Cambodian rice on its platform.

He noted: “We have seen Malaysia and Thailand have their own campaigns to promote certain agricultural products on Alibaba. We are now looking forward to a similar initiative for Cambodian rice. Alibaba has already started advertising this collaboration”.

He further highlighted that Thai agricultural products, particularly milled rice, as well as Malaysian durians, have seen substantial exposure through Alibaba's platform.

This observation has inspired CRF to delve deeper into strategising the promotion of Cambodian rice products on the website.

Acknowledging the cost associated with advertising on the platform, Sokheang stressed the need for a thorough study to understand the precise costs involved. However, he also expressed optimism that leveraging Alibaba's platform could significantly increase the visibility of Cambodian rice and subsequently drive higher usage.

He added: “Through the Alibaba website, we hope Cambodian rice would become more well-known. That’s a strategy we want to implement to encourage the use of Cambodian rice on a wider scale”.

CRF's recent report indicates that Cambodia has achieved nearly 50 per cent of the targeted 700,000 tonnes of rice exports for this year in the first half itself.

The exports have touched 330,000 tonnes, valued at $229.23 million, setting a promising pace for achieving the yearly goal.