Agriculture and fishing
Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand to cut rubber exports
The three Southeast Asian countries grouped in the International Tripartite Rubber Council (ITRC) will cut exports by 615,000 tons in the six months until August 31, 2016. Indonesia agreed to cut its exports by 238,736 tons, while Malaysia and Thailand pledged to reduce their overseas ...
Rice, garment sectors push exports into record territory
Cambodian exports grew by 17 per cent last year, driven by increases in shipments of rice and footwear, with garment export growth easing to a little under 7 per cent, according to a new Ministry of Commerce report. Outbound shipments in 2015, consisting mainly of rice, ...
Pig farmers in Laos face debt and bankruptcy due to falling pork prices
A Lao government program that provided loans to farmers to raise pigs in the run-up to the Southeast Asian Games held in the country seven years ago has bankrupted several farmers who have become mired in debt as pork prices have fallen, pushing a few ...
Farmers told to prepare for drought as El Niño’s stay extended
Just six months after record-setting floods wreaked havoc on crops, farmers are being told to get ready to withstand severe drought. Meteorologists predict it’s likely to be one for the decades. The El Niño event that hit Myanmar last year – and caused conditions among the ...
Thai military warns farmers of pump seizures
Thai military officers have warned farmers to stop pumping water from Klong Makham Thao, or they will have their water pumps seized. The officers, who were sent to inspect water drainage in Klong Makham Thao running through Chai Nat province, urged farmers to cooperate with authorities ...
Cold snap kills livestock in Huaphan
More than 200 cattle and almost 100 buffaloes died in Laos’ Huaphan province last week as a result of cold weather that hit the province last week. The cold weather also killed hundreds kilograms of tilapia fish in ponds and some poultry according to the provincial ...
Farmers need financial help ahead of more cold weather
Authorities urged financial support be provided to farmers affected by the last historic cold spell before 1 February’s chilly northern weather, 11 degrees Celsius in Hanoi, damaged their businesses further. A report by the Office of the Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention and Rescue showed that recent ...
Ho Chi Minh City starts five-year plan on organic food
The People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City has approved a five-year plan to promote cultivation of organic and safe vegetables. Under the programme, by 2020 organic and safe vegetable farming areas will reach more than 16,000 hectares. Production value would be more than VND800 million ...
Thai PM blames past policies for drought
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has blamed past policies that heavily promoted cash crops as a root cause of floods and drought. Commenting in the latest government’s newsletter, Gen Prayut said growing cash crops without controls leads to the destruction of forests and watershed areas, and even affects ...
Company denies illegal logging allegations
A company owned by a tycoon accused of logging vast stretches of forest in Cambodia’s Virachey National Park on 28 January fired back at its detractors, claiming that it paid the state more than $1 million in taxes and was cleared by a recent anti-illegal logging ...