Lao Rice-export Target Sparks Alarm

[geovalin]

Khmer Times/May Kunmakara

Local rice millers and exporters have responded with alarm to the rice-export target set by the Lao government of 1 million tons this year, while Cambodian rice millers and traders have yet to overcome numerous barriers hindering their competitiveness at home and abroad. The Cambodian government missed its target of exporting 1 million tons of milled rice last year.

Oryza, a rice industry website based in Thailand, quoted the director of the department of planning and cooperation at the Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, as saying the impoverished landlocked county is aiming to export 1 million tons of rice this year. The website said the Lao government has set a production target of about 4.2 million tons of paddy in the 2015-2016 season. The director said the target includes 40,000 tons of rice for reserve purposes and 60,000 tons for seeding. The Lao government is also planning to have 2.1 million tons for domestic consumption this year.

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