Cambodia is seeking to export its mangoes to South Korea, according to a senior official at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
Contacted yesterday, deputy MAFF director Hean Vanhorn said that a ministry representative would meet with a South Korean agriculture delegation today to discuss the possibility of exporting mangoes there.
“If both countries agree to this, it will be a great opportunity to boost the agricultural sector and mango production of Cambodia,” he said. “Cambodia has about 60,000 hectares of mango plantations across the country in 2015, which means we will have enough to meet all customers’ needs.”
Independent economic analyst Srey Chanthy welcomed the move, saying that Cambodians could profit from mango exports.
“For the last six years we have had rich mango [crops], but there is no market,” he said.
Mango exports from the Kingdom, especially when compared to regional heavyweights of Thailand and the Philippines, are small.
Cambodia’s first legal mango exports only began in early 2014.
The main export destinations for Cambodian mangoes are China, followed by France, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, said Orn Phalla, assistant managing director of Kingdom Fruits International Co Ltd, a sister company of Mong Reththy Group, the first firm to export mangoes abroad.
Phalla said the firm was looking to export to Japan and South Korea as well, although a significant hurdle remained higher packaging standards in both countries.
