PHNOM PENH: Cambodia’s rice industry has seen significant growth in 2023. According to a recent report from the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF), the country has earned a substantial US$1.56 billion from paddy and milled rice exports in the first ten months of the year.
From January to October this year, the Kingdom exported 507,029 tonnes of milled rice to 66 foreign countries and territories, earning more than US$376 million, stated the report.
Twenty-six (26) countries in Europe bought a combined amount of 254,945 tonnes of milled rice from Cambodia worth approximately US$197 million, it added.
At the same time, it continued, seven countries in the ASEAN bloc imported 100,996 tonnes worth US$66.61 million, while China purchased 93,197 tonnes worth US$61.48 million.
Cambodia also shipped almost 58,000 tonnes of milled rice to other destinations, generating a total income of US$51.61 million, said the source.
Rice varieties the country exported included fragrant rice, long-grain white rice, parboiled rice, and organic rice, among others.
The CRF’s report pointed out that some 4.03 million tonnes of paddy rice worth US$1,184 million were traded across the border to neighbouring countries during the said ten-month period.