Cavifoods allowed to open rice mill in Nom Benh by Hoon Xhen?

Cavifoods firm opens rice-milling facility

April, 02 2012
VNS (Hanoi)

PHNOM PENH — The Cambodia - Viet Nam Foods Company (Cavifoods) on March 30 opened a rice-milling plant in Phnom Penh that is expected by May to have the largest capacity and best product quality of any milling plant in the country.

When the plant opens its second production line in May, it will become fully operational, with a total capacity of 40,000 tonnes, according to Doan Anh Sang, Cavifoods chairman.

Cavifoods has three shareholders, Viet Nam's Cambodia Investment and Development Company (IDCC), Viet Nam Southern Food 2 Corp (Vinafood2) and the local company Green Trade, which represents 33 per cent, 37 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively, of the nearly US$8 million in charter capital.

The company targets exporting 250,000 tonnes per year by 2015, which would represent 25 per cent of rice exports from Cambodia, according to Tran Bac Ha, chairman of the Association of Vietnamese Investors in Cambodia and chairman of the Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam, a major shareholder in IDCC.

RI to team up with Myanmar, Cambodia

Thu, 03/15/2012
Hans David Tampubolon
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

They [Myanmar and Cambodia] invited Indonesia to develop rice mills, rice processing facilities, seedlings and technology in their regions

The Indonesian government plans to strengthen agricultural cooperation with Myanmar and Cambodia as part of the effort to ensure food security in the ASEAN region.

Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa told reporters here on Wednesday that he had ordered Agricultural Minister Suswono to visit Myanmar and Cambodia to explore the possibility of opening State Logistics Agency (Bulog) branch offices in those countries.

“We hope that in the future, Bulog will not only ensure our food security, distribution, reserves and stabilization, but will also be able to take part on an international level,” Hatta said.

Indonesia 'Thinking Of Food' Cooperation With Myanmar, Cambodia

JAKARTA, March 15 (Bernama) -- The Indonesian government is looking into the possibilities of agricultural cooperation with rice-producing countries such as Cambodia and Myanmar, Indonesia's ANTARA news agency reported.

"To ensure food security, it would be better if Indonesia has rice stocks in other countries, for instance, Cambodia and Myanmar that are also rice-producing countries," Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa said here on Wednesday.

The planned cooperation however does not mean that Indonesia will be importing rice from those countries, he said.

"The planned cooperation has nothing to do with rice imports. They (Cambodia and Myanmar) will invite us to develop rice millers there," he noted.

Chinese and Cambodian companies to build rice-processing mill

June 07, 2011
Xinhua

China's Yunnan Provincial Overseas Investment Co. on Monday signed a cooperative memorandum of understanding with Cambodia's SOMA Group to build a rice-processing facility in Cambodia.

The plant, with an annual processing capacity of 200,000 tonnes of rice, will process rice in Cambodia and export it to China and other international markets, according to a statement released after the document was signed at the China Kunming Import and Export Fair, which is being held in the capital city of Kunming in Yunnan Province.

Specific details about the project are not yet available.

Chinese company plans to invest in Cambodia's rice mill

September 14, 2010
Xinhua

A Chinese Company from China' s Guangxi Province is planning to invest in Cambodia's rice mill, a government official said Tuesday.

Eang Sophaleth, spokesperson to Prime Minister Hun Sen told reporters that during a meeting with Hun Sen on Tuesday afternoon, Song Zhenxiong, president of Guangxi Guohong Development Company said that for the first step, his company will invest 5 million U. S. dollars for rice mill and the investment scale will be upgraded in the following steps.

Song Zhenxiong was quoted as saying that he had already found a location for his rice mill in Kompong Chhnang province, some 80 kilometers northwest of Phnom Penh.

He said, as planned, his rice mill will be able to produce about 100 tons of processed rice per day.

Eang Sophaleth said Prime Minister Hun Sen welcomed the investment plan and encouraged Song to work closely with local people who are farmers in order to secure sufficient rice for process and exports.

Hun Sen has earlier set year 2015 as a year to export at least one million tons of rice to the world markets.

Some 80 percent of the country's 14 million populations are living in rural areas and are farmers.

Cambodia Targets Huge Boost in Rice Exports

Aug 17 (Reuters)- Cambodia is targeting annual rice exports of 1 million tonnes within five years, Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Tuesday, a dramatic increase from the current volume of about 20,000 tonnes.

That goal is still small compared to its neighbours, Thailand and Vietnam, which are aiming to ship 8.5 million tonnes and 6.1 million tonnes respectively this year.

But impoverished Cambodia has shown signs of aspiring to the same league as Thailand and Vietnam, respectively the world's biggest and second-biggest rice exporters.

It announced earlier this month it was looking for foreign investors to boost its fledgling rice milling sector so that it can reap higher dividends from its grain crop, much of which is currently sent to Vietnam to be milled and re-exported.

Cambodia is the world's 15th biggest rice producer and plans to raise rice production to 9 million tonnes of paddy by 2015, up from the current 7 million tonnes, industry officials said.

"The market for rice is still big," Hun Sen said during a speech on development in Cambodia, noting that recent natural disasters have damaged food crops across the world and raised the value of food commodities.

To reach the 1 million mark, Cambodia needs foreign investment as well as government-backed soft loans to improve rice productivity and boost its fledging rice milling sector, Hun Sen said.

After years of political turbulence, including civil war and the deadly Khmer Rouge era, Cambodia's economy was in tatters by the end of the 1980s. In some years it has had to import low-quality rice from Thailand.

Hun Sen said foreign investment in creating an adequate rice milling sector would help support Cambodia to reap higher dividends from its grain crop, much of which is currently sent to Vietnam to be milled and re-exported.

Apart from developing milling houses, the government also launched a loan-supporting programme by urging local banks to provide money for rice-related business.

The government has pledged to help repay half of the debts if debtor failed to pay back the loan.

Asean rice millers form regional group

11/08/2010
Phusadee Arunmas
Bangkok Post

Asean members agreed yesterday to set up an Asean Rice Millers Federation in a move to forge closer co-operation and curb price competition.

The new co-operative venture involves seven countries excluding Singapore and Brunei which have no rice production of their own.

The members aim to upgrade the quality of the milling process, strengthen rice management and create more of an integrated rice production network among Asean members.

Asean is the world's leading rice producer, with Thailand and Vietnam alone making for more than half of the global rice trade totalling about 30 million tonnes of milled rice a year.

Commerce Minister Porntiva Nakasai said the presence of the new rice federation would also ensure Thailand's current status as a global rice producer and establish the country as the Asean rice trading hub in the future.

The participants in the new venture also aim to curb smuggling of paddy from neighbouring countries, especially through overland borders.

Despite the zero tariff under the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta) on 23 farm products including rice, maize, soybeans, sugar,and garlic in effect since January this year, paddy continues to be smuggled from neighbouring countries.

The initiative should be a boon for Thai millers, who are utilising only 30% of their relatively high capacities, while highly efficient rice mills are in short supply in countries such as Cambodia.

Thailand currently has milling capacity of up to 100 million tonnes of paddy a year, while the country produces an average of 30 million tonnes of paddy a year.

Charnchai Rattananon, president of the Thai Rice Millers Association, added the initiative would benefit regional rice trading and optimise benefits from the free trade agreement.

Closer ties are also likely to reduce price competition among the bloc, he added.

"If paddy imports from neighbouring countries are legalised, it would help raise Thailand's milling capacity which is now still far underutilised," he said. "Thailand in the future may focus on shipping premium products, while other member countries ship lower-grade grains."

Prasit Boonchoey, president of the Thai Farmers Association, welcomed the initiative but urged the government to work out effective import measures to prevent any impact on local rice.

Cambodia eyes Nov. 4 rice tender [with the Philippines]

Saturday, October 31, 2009
Marites S. Villamor
Business World Online
MANILA, PHILIPPINES

MACTAN, Cebu -- Cambodia aims to double exports in five years and play a bigger role in the global rice market.

Ny Lyheng, managing director of the Federation of Cambodian Rice Millers Associations, said on Thursday that his group also plans to tap new markets, including the Philippines, as he expressed interest to participate in the Philippine tender on November 4.

Mr. Ny said Ambassador Noe Wong and his staff at the Philippine Embassy in Phnom Penh recently toured the facilities of Baitang (Kampuchea) Plc. (Cambodia Green Plc), which operates the first and biggest rice milling plant in Cambodia. The plant has the capacity to produce 720 metric tons a day, Mr. Ny added.

Cambodia presently produces around eight million metric tons of paddy rice, only half of which is for domestic consumption. The other half, which translates to about 3 million MT of milled rice, is exported to Germany, France, Malaysia and other countries.

The target is to more than double exports to 8 million MT of milled rice by 2015, Mr. Ny said.

"Cambodia has great potential to be a major player (in the rice market). We can compete in terms of quality and quantity," Mr. Ny said.

To increase production, Mr. Ny said they will cultivate more lands for rice, increase the cropping periods, improve farming techniques and upgrade rice mills.

The government had provided the federation a loan, part of which was used to held upgrade milling equipment throughout the country.

"Now, 15% of our mills are ready to export. They are expected to start exporting in 2010," Mr. Ny told delegates to the World Rice Conference here that ended Thursday.

The rest of the mills will continue to cater to domestic requirements while upgrading their equipment.

Cambodia presently has 2.6 million hectares of ricelands. "We have a very big land area. We can increase our irrigated lands," Mr. Ny said.

Other emerging rice exporters are Myanmar, which targets to export 1 million MT next year; and Uruguay, whose paddy exports may reach 1.25 million MT, or about 800,000 MT of milled rice.

Even for rice processing mill, Cambodia has to depend on Vietnam ... what can Hun Xen's Cambodia do on its own?

Vietnam-Cambodia joint venture to boost rice shipments

Monday, October 5, 2009
VNA (Hanoi)

Vietnam and Cambodia signed an agreement on Monday to form a food processing joint venture focused on boosting Cambodian rice shipments.

Cavifoods, with a registered capital of US$8 billion, will build a rice processing mill this year and then another factory to make bread and instant noodles.

The Southern Food Corporation, one of Vietnam’s two biggest state-owned food companies, will have a stake in the Cambodia-based joint venture.

The Vietnam Food Association said last month that a joint venture with Cambodia is necessary because it would shield Vietnam from tough competition against the neighboring country in future rice exports.

Also on Monday, Five Stars International Joint Stock Company, a Ho Chi Minh City-based fertilizer producer, set up a joint venture to manufacture and distribute fertilizer in Cambodia.

Vietnamese companies to control rice price in Cambodia?

Vietnam, Cambodia mull rice venture to steady prices

17/08/2009
VietNamNet/Thanh Nien/ Bloomberg

VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese and Cambodian officials met this week to discuss setting up a state-owned joint rice mill project to control prices, a local association said.

An official from the Vietnam Food Association said Thursday that the Southern Food Corporation (Vinafood 2) and the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam would be the Vietnamese partners, representing a 60 percent stake in the Cambodia-based joint venture.

The first rice venture between the two countries would combine the rice processing experience of the Vietnamese partners with Cambodia’s rice production sector, which has been largely untapped for exports, said the official.

Vietnam is the world’s second biggest rice exporter, having shipped nearly US$1.7 billion worth of rice in the first seven months this year.

Cambodian rice yields have been increasing and its government has encouraged businesses to process for export, according to the association.

About 1 million tons of Cambodian rice was ready for export, said the association. The competition, as well as a high summer-fall yield in Vietnam, was pushing prices down, according to local officials.

The new venture is expected to help prevent prices from falling, the association said.

The association aims to prevent price drops by asking members to buy 400,000 tons of the grain from farmers in order to increase its rice stockpiles.

Regional association

A Thai official said Saturday that five Southeast Asian nations may set up a rice-trade association next year to cooperate in stabilizing rice prices.

Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar will also cooperate on other issues related to food security and production, said Chiya Yimvilai, a spokesman at a meeting of ASEAN economic ministers in Bangkok. The countries would also work together on developing rice products, he said.

“It won’t be like OPEC,” said Chiya, speaking at a press briefing. “Our objective is to help prevent prices from falling too much, but we won’t jointly set the prices.”