Cambodia hopes to begin exporting its aquaculture products in the next few years, The Phnom Penh Post reported 23 March.
The kingdom produced 307,408 metric tons (MT) of aquaculture, shrimp, and fish last year, up 21 percent year-on-year, data from Cambodia’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries indicates, according to the paper.
Cambodia has already shipped small amounts of aquaculture products to other countries in Asia, including Japan, but this was done merely on a trial basis. The country has set a target of full commercial trading of its aquaculture products to major seafood destinations in the world such as China, the European Union, and Japan “within the next few years,” according to Eng Cheasan, the head of the Fisheries Administration at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries. To do so, Cambodia must focus on fish farming and hygienic standards in order to meet export standards, Cheasan said.
Cambodia's aquaculture sector has seen production increase by 20 percent annually in recent years, but it is still much lower than the output of its neighbors in Southeast Asia. neighboring countries.
As part of a plan to boost investment, Cambodia hopes to attract attention from Japanese investors. Earlier this month, Fumiaki Takahashi, the president of the Japan-Cambodia Association and a former Japanese ambassador to Cambodia, met with Cambodian Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Veng Sakhon to discuss cooperation in the sector. The Japanese side said a group of leading trading companies is expected to visit Cambodia in December to explore investment opportunities. And at the moment, a Japanese company is in the process of evaluating the possibility of building an aquaculture project in Cambodia, with the aim of exporting products to Japan, the daily said.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) began offering Cambodia assistance with expanding its fish farming in 2005. The agency established by the Marine Aquaculture Research and Development Center (MARDeC) in Cambodia in 2012 to help Cambodia develop marine aquaculture seed production techniques.
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