By Ka-set
Unofficial translation from French by Tola Ek
Click here to read the original article in French
Click here to read the original article in Khmer
African countries are eying Cambodia’s broken rice, Cham Prasidh, the minister of Commerce, declared on Monday 28 April 2008. During an official visit to Senegal last week, the authorities of this West African country had ordered 6,000 tons of broken rice. A delegation from Senegal would soon visit the kingdom to check the quality of the rice and to start negotiations, Cham Prasidh indicated.
“Today, we have an agreement with Senegal. Suddenly, its neighbor, Gambia, asks us also to provide broken rice! I told Gambia to wait so that we can evaluate the quantity of rice available for export.”
Since then, Cham Prasidh assured, phone calls from African countries kept on ringing him with the same request.
Broken rice, the residue from successive manipulations and sorting between broken and intact rice grains, is not what Cambodian people like. Thousands of tons of this rice are waiting for buyers, otherwise they will be use to feed animals, Cham Prasidh explained. Selling this broken rice (for export) will bring so much more (revenue).
“Today, we have an agreement with Senegal. Suddenly, its neighbor, Gambia, asks us also to provide broken rice! I told Gambia to wait so that we can evaluate the quantity of rice available for export.”
Since then, Cham Prasidh assured, phone calls from African countries kept on ringing him with the same request.
Broken rice, the residue from successive manipulations and sorting between broken and intact rice grains, is not what Cambodian people like. Thousands of tons of this rice are waiting for buyers, otherwise they will be use to feed animals, Cham Prasidh explained. Selling this broken rice (for export) will bring so much more (revenue).
