AMRU Rice seals deal to purchase off co-ops + Industry casts doubt on meeting Philippine rice bid

[geovalin]

AMRU Rice seals deal to purchase off co-ops

Tue, 9 September 2014

Chan Muyhong

One of Cambodia’s largest rice millers and exporters, AMRU Rice Co, yesterday signed a deal with eight farmer cooperatives in Preah Vihear province to purchase 2,500 tonnes of organic fragrant paddy rice.

AMRU Rice CEO and president Song Saran said the agreement states that farmers of the eight cooperatives will be paid a 20 per cent premium over the market’s current price per tonne for standard fragrant Jasmine paddy. The deal also covers the cost of transporting the grain from Preah Vihear to the firm’s mill in Battambang province.

“The first shipment of 10 containers [20 tonnes per container] will start in November after the rice is certified with ‘organic’ status from ECOCERT, a French organic certification body,” Saran said.

“Preah Vihear is a new land for rice farming. Farmers cannot afford to use chemical fertilisers and pesticides so they rely on very traditional farming methods, which in turn make the rice automatically organic.”

Ouk Bopha Phalnary, president of the rice community in Preah Vihear’s Roveang district, said AMRU’s offer would end the farmers’ dependence on middlemen, who often force them to accept bottom-dollar rates.

“Traders offer whatever price they want,” he said.

“Farmers have no choice because they need the money. We are happy that we can have a certain market for our rice with a good price. It gives us more confidence to keep planting our crops.”

Figures from CEDAC, a nonprofit agricultural organisation, show that more than 257 tonnes of organic rice was exported to the US, Germany and Hong Kong between January and August this year.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Industry casts doubt on meeting Philippine rice bid

Thu, 11 September 2014

Hor Kimsay

Cambodian rice exporters expressed doubt yesterday regarding the industry’s ability to meet the technical terms and conditions laid out in the Philippine government’s rice import bid.

The Philippines’ National Food Authority (NFA) in August set up a bidding process, open to all countries, for the import of 500,000 tonnes of rice to the country.

However, all bets were rejected as no single country was able to meet the price targets set by the NFA.

The authority has since reopened the bidding, keen to replenish rice stocks after severe weather caused damage to local crops and drove up domestic prices.

David Van, executive director of rice miller and exporter Boost Riche Cambodia, said yesterday that the Philippines’ bid required a country to contribute a minimum of 200,000 tonnes to be delivered across 14 ports in the Philippines. This, he said, made both production and logistics management a tough ask for Cambodia’s rice growers and exporters.

“Considering the complicated and stringent technical terms and conditions required by the Filipino Government as described in the tender documents, only big league exporters can comply with that, and none of the Cambodian exporters are even close to that technical level and expertise,” Van said in an email yesterday.

“We are barely learning to walk slowly and firmly on both feet and cannot pretend yet to enroll in a professional marathon running,” he added.

Song Saran, chief executive officer of rice exporter Amru Rice Cambodia, told the Post yesterday that a lack of rice paddy already in stock made it difficult for Cambodia to compete with the likes of rice-producing giant Vietnam.

“Our price is controlled by Vietnam because they have a big stock of paddy,” he said, referring to the offer Cambodia might be able to submit.

“If we had enough paddy stock in hand, we might have more ability to bid, but the problem is we don’t have it,” he added.

Sok Puthyvuth, president of the Cambodia Rice Federation, acknowledged yesterday that there were challenges to overcome, but said the country would still go after a piece of the NFA contract as it was a doorway into a new market.

“The requirements put up by the Philippines have many difficulties, which makes is very tough to export to there,” he said.

Puthyvuth said he would try to negotiate some concessions for Cambodia within the bidding process to deliver in areas that he thought the sector was capable of meeting.

According to rice industry news portal Oryza, the NFA will make the final offers public on September 15.

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business