Mango producers struggle to meet Korean standards
It has been nearly a year since the government signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korea that aimed to put Cambodian mangoes on the shelves of supermarkets in Seoul, yet local producers say there is little sign of any movement. According to In Chayvan, president of the Kampong Speu Mango Association, the potentially lucrative trade agreement signed last December has stalled on South Korea’s stringent sanitary and phytosanitary regulations, which local producers are unable to comply with. “Firstly, we are farmers, so we were happy to hear that the government had inked this agreement, but when we later found out about South Korea’s requirements, we lost hope,” he said on November 17. “South Korea is focused on food safety, which is the main barrier for us as we cannot afford the technology required to kill all the bacteria on our mangoes,” he explained.
