PH Looking Into Importing Cambodian Rice Paddies

According to Go Negosyo Founder and ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC) Chair, Joey Concepcion, Cambodia can be a big exporter of rice.

He adds that Cambodian businessmen are encouraged to export their rice paddies directly to the Philippines to support investment and trade with the two countries.

Concepcion also adds that unprocessed Cambodian rice paddies are being sent to Vietnam for processing before exporting to the Philippines and other countries.

“So, akala natin itong mga rice na dumarating dito ay talagang grown and exported from Vietnam pero iyon ay galing sa Cambodia and they processed it with Vietnam (So what we think is that the rice that enters here are grown and exported from Vietnam but this actually comes from Cambodia and they processed it with Vietnam),” mentioned Concepcion in a public briefing.

Concepcion stated that in the ASEAN Summit recently held in Phnom Penh, the Philippine business delegation spoke with their Cambodian counterparts to discuss possibilities of business ventures in the rice sector of the Philippines, specifically investing in processing plants and direct exports.

“So, isang suggestion namin sa Cambodian businessmen, na sana ay baka pwedeng opportunity iyan ng Pilipinas na lang ang magpu-process, So, kung pwede nilang gawin ay to guide us through, at may mga negosyante dito na baka pwedeng magtayo ng mga processing plant para sa rice; at mukhang positibo naman ang mga Cambodian delegation tungkol dito (So one of our suggestions to the Cambodian businessmen is maybe it can be an opportunity for the Philippines to process it. So, what they can do is to guide us through and there are entrepreneurs here who can put up these processing plants for rice; and it seems that the Cambodian delegation is optimistic about this),” Concepcion added.

Source: Philippine News Agency