SUM MANET
Portugal is keen to import more agricultural products from Cambodia, especially the kingdom’s fragrant rice, said the acting Commerce Minister on Friday.
This pledge was made by Francisco Vaz Patto, Portugal’s ambassador to Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, during his meeting with Kem Sithan at the Ministry of Commerce.
Mr. Sithan was acting for Pan Sorasak who travelled to Europe recently, with Prime Minister Hun Sen, to attend the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos.
“Cambodia made a request to Portugal, urging it to import more from us. We have ample agricultural products for export and our fragrant rice is really popular overseas,” said Mr. Sithan.
“Also, we are keen to arrange a business forum between Cambodia and Portugal to promote trade and investment between both countries,” he added.
According to Mr. Sithan, Mr. Vaz Patto pledged to bring Portuguese investors to Cambodia and also to convince his government to import more Cambodian agricultural products, especially fragrant rice.
“Mr. Vaz Patto said Portugal is a country that has demand for rice – which is the highest in Europe,” added Mr. Sithan.
Mr. Vaz Patto also promised to help promote Cambodia as a destination for Portuguese tourists, he said.
Khan Kunthy, CEO of BRICo, said his company exported fragrant rice to Europe and the US.
“We export only jasmine and fragrant rice. We are not interested in the Asean market because they consume white rice, except Malaysia,” he said.
Most of Cambodia’s milled rice is exported to Europe. Cambodia’s rice industry has been advised by the European Union to seek other markets and not just concentrate its exports to Europe, as it moves from a low-income country in its least developed country status to a lower-middle income nation, amid calls to cut the kingdom’s EU tariff-free export quotas.
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