Cambodia to Export Oz Beef

KHMER TIMES
SUM MANET



Cambodia is now ready to export beef from Australian Brahman cattle which were imported into the Kingdom in June, according to local meat distributor SLN Meat Supplies.

Hor Sin Leang, SLN’s managing director, told Khmer Times yesterday that his company now had surplus beef after having supplied a small Cambodian market ‒ mostly the Kingdom’s mini-markets and upscale restaurants.

“We are now waiting for the Ministry of Agriculture to approve our hygiene certificate for export. We will be exporting overseas, including to China and Singapore,” said Mr. Sin Leang.

In June SLN took delivery of 2,761 Brahman steer, two years after Cambodia and Australia signed animal health protocols in 2014 for the export of Australian feeder and slaughter cattle.

Mr. Sin Leang said over the next 12 months between 10,000 and 15,000 head of Australian cattle would be exported to Cambodia.
“We are preparing about 200,000 tons of beef to export to the international market,” he added.

“The cows would be fattened for three or four months and then slaughtered by our abattoirs.”

SLN is the largest company in the Asean region producing Australian beef and it has already built a factory costing more than $30 million in Preah Sihanouk province. It is located in Prek Teal village in Prey Nob district’s Teuk Thla commune.

Compared to local beef, Mr. Sin Leang said Australian beef was still more expensive. Australian beef is sold at close to $20 per kilogram compared to Cambodian beef which is available at $10 per kilogram in local markets.

The cattle export trade to Cambodia is a boon to Australia and comes at a time when the industry seems to be in the doldrums Down Under.

Ashley James, manager of Northern Australia and Southeast Asia section for Frontier International, said in the ABC Radio’s “Rural Report” yesterday that it was crucial for the industry to have strong market alternatives.

“We have to look for other markets, you've only got to look at Indonesia and see where that is at the moment,” he said.

“When we first sat down with this company [SLN] two years ago, they had grand plans that we wanted to be a part of. A few of their directors have a background running successful agribusinesses in Australia, they moved back to Cambodia but still have Australian links and it works well.”