Agriculture
Agricultural commodities, processing and products
Thailand plans 2m more tonnes of G-to-G rice sales
The Thai government aims to sell over 2 million tonnes of rice this year on a government-to-government (G-to-G) basis. But it admits a renewed attempt to sell rice to Iran may hit a snag because of escalating political conflict in the Middle East. Chutima Bunyapraphasara, Commerce Ministry permanent ...
Rice warehouses are put back on the table in talks with China
Cambodia’s Ministry of Commerce announced last week a $400 million proposal by three Chinese firms to build state-run rice warehousing facilities to increase the Kingdom’s storage capacity. Lacking such capacity has been a longstanding issue that sector experts say has in part hampered ambitions of reaching the ...
Softer loans won't quicken Vietnam coffee replanting
Cheaper credit extended to Vietnamese coffee growers for replanting part of the world’s biggest robusta production will not accelerate the process that has already been hindered by lengthy paperwork, traders and analysts said on 31 December. Vietnam aims to replace old coffee trees, now accounting for ...
Sugar posts 1st gain in 5 years as El Nino ends surplus
After four bitter years, sugar mills can look forward to sweeter prospects in 2016. Prices have rebounded 50% since reaching a seven-year low in August. Raw-sugar futures traded in New York posted a 5% gain for the year, their first annual advance since 2010. The market ...
Rice farmers looking at dry spell
Cambodian farmers and exporters have expressed concerns over an Agriculture Ministry notice issued on 23 December asking farmers to have only one harvest this upcoming dry season because of water shortages across the country, given that this could affect the paddy output next year. The ministry notice ...
Rubber firm excavated land, Kratie families say
More than 160 families in Kratie province’s Snuol district have alleged that the Memot Rubber Plantation company has been using excavators to clear their land. The families from Pi Thnou commune filed a complaint to the provincial office of local rights group Adhoc on 23 December, ...
For migrants, the legal route brings few benefits: report
They are mired in debt bondage, their pay slips are slashed by hidden fees and fabricated taxes, and they’re forced to work excessive hours in slave-like conditions absent of breaks and without the guarantee of overtime pay. This is the lot of migrant workers who ...
Exports of palm oil up, despite price drop
Exports of crude palm oil from the Mong Reththy Company – the Cambodia’s sole producer of the product – increased 8.1 per cent for the first 11 months this year, compared to the same period in 2014. Mong Reththa, vice chairman of the board of directors at ...
In Pa-O zone, no end to opium cultivation
A genuine ceasefire agreement between the government and armed groups is needed to tackle poppy cultivation in the Pa-O Self-Administered Zone, local groups say. Research conducted by the Pa-O Youth Organisation (PYO) has found that opium eradication projects continue to fail because of the taxation of ...
Laos eyes more rice sales to China
Laos’ Savannkhet province is looking to increase rice exports to China to more than 10,000 tons a year after the first order for 8,000 tons was received from the Chinese market this year. Laos on 10 December officially exported its first batch of rice to China from ...
