Cambodia launches longan exports to China

PHNOM PENH -- Cambodia on Thursday launched longan exportation to China, marking another fruitful cooperation in the agricultural sector between the two countries.

Cambodian Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Dith Tina and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian attended the launching ceremony here.

Speaking at the event, Tina said practical cooperation in agriculture has promoted the development of Cambodia-China friendly relations, and friendly relations between the two countries have also provided good development space for their agricultural cooperation.

"From 2019 to the end of June 2022, Cambodia exported a total of 2.4 million tons of agricultural products to China, with a total export value of 1.942 billion U.S. dollars," he said.

The minister said China has been the largest export market for Cambodian rice for several years, and since 2019, Cambodia has been approved to export bananas, mangoes, Basa fish, corn and longan to China one after another.

"At present, the two sides are speeding up the export of Cambodian pepper, wild aquatic products, edible aquatic animals, bird's nest, coconuts, etc. to China," he said.

It is believed that more Cambodian agricultural products will be allowed to be exported to China in the future for the benefit of the two peoples, Tina said.

Meanwhile, Wang said that in recent years, under the care of the leaders of the two countries, agricultural cooperation between China and Cambodia has shown great vigor.

In April, the agricultural ministries of the two countries held the second meeting of the China-Cambodia Steering Committee on Agricultural Cooperation, which clarified the key direction of agricultural cooperation between the two sides in the future, he said.

The agricultural development planning project aided by China in Cambodia also started to be implemented, he said.

The ambassador said cooperation between the two countries in the field of animal husbandry has also been fruitful. The two sides have reached an agreement on a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in veterinary drugs, veterinary biological products and feed additives.

He added that with the efforts of both sides, Cambodian Basa fish, corn and longan have been successfully approved for export to China this year.

"Today, we witnessed the successful export of Cambodian longan to China. This is another substantive achievement of China-Cambodia agricultural cooperation under the pandemic. It will bring tangible benefits to the two peoples and greatly promote the further development of China-Cambodia friendly relations," Wang said.

Tina and Wang jointly issued licences to eight Cambodian packaging plants for exporting longan to China.