Cambodia rice export up 1.9 pct in 1st two months thanks to China

PHNOM PENH, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia exported 112,486 tons of milled rice in the first two months of 2019, an increase of 1.9 percent over the same period last year, according to an official report on Friday.

China is the biggest buyer of Cambodia rice, said the report from the Secretariat of One Window Service for Rice Export.

Cambodia export 43,452 tons of milled rice to China during the Jan.-Feb. period this year, up 32 percent over the same period last year, it said, adding that Chinese market absorbed 38.6 percent of Cambodia's total rice export.

According to the report, Cambodia rice export to the European markets declined by 33 percent during the period because the European Union, in January, imposed tariffs on rice going from Cambodia in a bid to curb a surge in rice imports from the kingdom.

The Southeast Asian nation shipped 33,969 tons of rice to Europe in the first two months of this year, down 33 percent over the same period last year, the report said.

Cambodia produces around 10 million tons of paddy rice a year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-03/08/c_137879551.htm