The Indonesian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia, Santo Darmosumarto, visited Prey Veng Province, which is regarding 100 kilometers from the capital city of Phnom Penh and is one of Cambodia’s rice fields. The visit was the result of a bilateral meeting between President Joko Widodo and Cambodian PM, Hun Manet, on the sidelines of the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Melbourne.
In a bilateral meeting in Melbourne, the two leaders agreed to continue to advance food security cooperation, especially related to rice trade. As a continuation of the first shipment of Cambodian rice to Indonesia last year, President Joko Widodo hopes that Indonesia can once more import quality rice from Cambodia at competitive prices.
Meanwhile, in his meeting with the Governor of Prey Veng, Suon Somalin, Ambassador Santo expressed the hope that the momentum of 65 Years of Diplomatic Relations between Indonesia and Cambodia this year might encourage strengthening economic cooperation.
“There is excellent potential in the agricultural sector. “For this reason, the Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh is currently conducting an in-depth study of forms of cooperation that can be developed by the private sector and state-owned enterprises of the two countries,” said Santo, quoting a written statement received in Jakarta, Sunday (10/3).
While in Prey Veng, Ambassador Santo visited two modern large-scale rice factories capable of producing rice with a capacity of around 3,000 tons per month each.
The leaders of the two factories expressed their readiness to export to Indonesia, especially because of their experience in exporting to China, European countries and Timor Leste.
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Every year Prey Veng rice production reaches 1.7 million tons, but the majority is exported to Viet Nam, where the rice is then processed into rice. The Governor of Prey Veng expressed the hope that Indonesian entrepreneurs would be interested in participating in developing rice production and storage capacity in Prey Veng.
Based on data from the Cambodia Rice Federation, Cambodia’s total rice production reaches 11.62 million tons per year, while domestic consumption needs are only 5.8 million tons. In Cambodia there are a total of 270 rice mills and 80 of them have capacity for export. In 2023, Cambodia exported 656,000 tons of rice; 15,000 tons of which were sent to Indonesia.
In terms of quality, Cambodian rice has received various international awards. Therefore, there is a perception that, although suitable for Indonesian consumers, Cambodian rice is more expensive than the production of other neighboring countries. Exported Cambodian rice has certification from an accredited lab so its safety is guaranteed.
After visiting rice production locations in the provinces of Battambang, Kampong Speu and Prey Veng in the last 2 months, Ambassador Santo believes that the Cambodian rice industry is quite ready to support strengthening Indonesia’s food reserves.
“The agricultural sector is very close to the hearts of the Cambodian Government and people. “Partnerships in this field can be an important factor in strengthening RI-Cambodia cooperation in the future,” he said. (Z-8)
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