A Cambodian vendor sells her fresh mangoes in Phnom Penh. Heng Chivoan
Germany has announced their continued support for driving the export of Cambodian agricultural products to international markets, especially China.
In an April 7 workshop on German support for the agriculture sector, German ambassador Christian Berger said that the Cambodian agricultural sector is growing its export potential. This growth comes especially through the developmental cooperation of Germany in the agricultural sector, in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said many key achievements have been made by the German development agency GIZ in Cambodia. GIZ will continue to support the export of Cambodian agricultural product to international markets.
Günter Riethmacher, GIZ Office Cambodia country director, said the fruitful results of the cooperation responded to the two pillars of ‘state-development partners and community’ in their contributions to increased productivity, agriculture diversification, and agriculture commercialization. This promoted the agriculture sector, ensured food security, reduced poverty and increased rural development, all in a sustainable and inclusive way. It also contributed to economic gains, especially in regard to Cambodia’s 2021-2023 economic recovery plan.
Ngin Chhay, director-general of the Agriculture Ministry’s General Directorate of Agriculture, said that Cambodian tropical fruits have the potential to become major exports to international markets. However, Cambodia has yet to meet the phytosanitation hygiene requirements for export and there are other necessary conditions that companies set.
He said the workshop was also run to demonstrate those requirements to participants, so they would understand them clearly. It was hoped that the private sector would use the knowledge to implement the necessary steps.
Agriculture Minister Veng Sakhon who also attended the workshop, said it had publicised the government’s strategy for increasing exporting Cambodian agricultural product to all relevant stakeholders, in particular health measures and phytosanitation, both of which play important roles in securing strong exports.
“From this workshop, I believe that more Cambodian products will soon be presence in international markets, especially China,” he said praising the organisation of the event.
