Gov’t eyes million-tonne rice quota deal with Indonesia
Cambodia is close to signing an ambitious agreement with the Indonesian government that would pave the way for the Kingdom’s rice producers to export 1 million tonnes of rice under a new quota scheme, a state official said on October 24. Soeng Sophary, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, said a memorandum of understanding between Cambodia and Indonesia has already been finalised and is ready for ink. “Everything is agreed upon between the two governments already,” she said. “We are just waiting for the right time to sign the MoU and then the private sector will be engaged in the process.” She added that the new quota scheme presented a valuable opportunity for Cambodia’s rice sector. “This would bring a new market for the country’s rice producers and would provide the private sector with fair market value,” she said, adding that the quota scheme was in line with the government’s elusive target of exporting 1 million tonnes of rice a year by 2015, which it fell well short of achieving.
