(Dongbo News Agency reporter/Zhao Yali) "The people take food as the sky, and food takes rice as the first." Which country in Southeast Asia has the best rice, Cambodian rice must be listed. Among the many supermarkets in Guangxi, Cambodian jasmine rice can be found everywhere and has become one of the favorite rice of many Chinese people. Along the Mekong River, Tonle Sap Lake and Basa River is the main rice producing area in Cambodia, from distant Cambodia to the Chinese table, Cambodian rice and the China-ASEAN Expo (hereinafter referred to as the East Expo) have an unusual story.
It is widely known for the East Expo
Dating back to Cambodian rice's entry into the Chinese market, it is necessary to mention the key figure - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, as well as the publicity and promotion of the East Expo platform.
In 2007, when Hun Sen attended the 4th East Expo, he proposed to the Chinese side that he hoped that the Chinese market would introduce Cambodian rice, and looked forward to eating Cambodian jasmine rice on his next visit to Nanning, Guangxi. In 2008, Hun Sen got his wish and Cambodia became the theme country for the first time at the 5th East Expo, and Cambodian rice also made its debut in the Chinese market. Since then, Cambodian rice has stood out as one of the most popular products at the East Expo.
In the Cambodia Pavilion of the 18th East Expo in 2021, the signboard of "Siem Reap - Cambodian Jasmine Rice" is particularly conspicuous, attracting many exhibitors to stop and consult. "This jasmine rice is our star product, with a sweet, soft and sweet taste. This rice has been unveiled at the East Expo for 12 consecutive years and is very popular in the market. Guo Dongliang, executive chairman of Guohong (Cambodia) Industrial Co., Ltd., said.
Siem Reap at the 18th East Expo – Cambodian Jasmine Rice
Good products should also be able to drink. Since 2010, Guohong (Cambodia) Industrial Co., Ltd. will participate in the East Expo as scheduled every year and actively explore the domestic market through the East Expo. Guo Dongliang said: "The East Expo is a good platform, in recent years, Cambodian jasmine rice has been recognized and accepted by more consumers. "With the help of the East Expo platform, jasmine rice sales have increased year by year, from more than 20 million yuan when they first participated in the exhibition to more than 100 million yuan in sales in 2021, and the brand's popularity and reputation have been continuously improved." From 2016 to 2021, "Siem Reap - Cambodia Jasmine Rice" was identified as the designated product of the East Expo for 6 consecutive years.
Tourists stop to buy Cambodian rice at the East Expo
Under the bridge of the East Expo, Cambodian rice is gradually familiar and accepted by Chinese consumers. Cambodian fragrant rice has been circulated in 9 provinces of China. Today, supermarkets in many provinces in China have High-quality Cambodian rice on their shelves, not only offline stores, but also cambodian rice on major online e-commerce platforms, and sales are very high.
Firmly seated in the position of "biggest buyer"
With the continuous release of the potential of the Chinese market, the demand for fragrant rice in Cambodia remains high. In recent years, under the impetus of the Chinese and Cambodian governments, the cooperation between the two sides has been continuously strengthened, and the number of rice exported from Cambodia to China has repeatedly reached a new high.
According to reports, in 2021, Cambodian rice exports of 617,000 tons, down 10.68% year-on-year, but the Cambodian rice exported to China by China Inspection and Certification Group (CCIC) Cambodia Co., Ltd. completed the inspection of a total of 306,000 tons, an increase of 7% year-on-year, successfully crossing the 300,000-ton mark, China is still the largest exporter of Cambodian rice. Moreover, in November 2021, China and Cambodia signed a memorandum of understanding on Cooperation on China's purchase of 400,000 tons of Cambodian rice, which will be implemented for a period of 17 months from December 2021.
In addition, in the first five months of 2022, Cambodian rice exports totaled more than 280,000 tons, and China imported nearly 150,000 tons from Cambodia, continuing to become the largest buyer of Cambodian rice. Officials from Cambodia's Ministry of Commerce revealed that although the current price and transportation costs of Cambodian rice are higher than in other countries, China has shown great determination to import more Cambodian rice because of its good quality.
From the first export of Cambodian rice to China in 2012 and the annual total of 5,000 tons to 2021 to reach the annual total of more than 300,000 tons for the first time, a historic leap has been achieved, which also shows that with China's strong support, Cambodia's rice production and processing industry has made great progress, and the processing level and capacity of rice have been greatly improved.
All kinds of rice in Cambodia
It is worth mentioning that China is the first country to sign a bilateral free trade agreement with Cambodia, with the official entry into force of the China-Cambodia Free Trade Agreement and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) on January 1, 2022, more than 90% of the trade in goods in the approved member countries will gradually achieve zero tariffs, and enterprises in various countries in the region can enjoy lower preferential tariff rates through the agreement, providing greater market access for Cambodian agricultural products. It will attract more investment and advanced technology in areas such as rice processing in Cambodia. For agricultural enterprises, it is a big positive, not only can import various agricultural goods can directly enjoy more tariff preferences, but also export related agricultural products can also enjoy zero tariffs of importing countries.
The East Expo builds a bridge of cooperation between enterprises and merchants
"I hope that the 19th East Expo can provide more platforms for regional economic and trade cooperation for enterprises." Wang Wei, deputy general manager of Guangxi Guohong Economic Development Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Guohong Group), said. As a landmark project of Guangxi's investment and cooperation in Cambodia's agricultural product processing, in 2009, the company signed a memorandum of economic and trade cooperation with Cambodia through the East Expo, and in the same year, it built a rice processing plant project in Cambodia.
At the 18th East Expo, Guohong Group reached an intention to purchase agreement with merchants from Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Chongqing and other parts of the country, with a cooperation amount of nearly 4 million yuan. The East Expo has built a bridge of cooperation for enterprises and merchants.
Thanks to the platform role of the East Expo, Cambodian fragrant rice has become one of the favorite fragrant rice of the Chinese people once it appeared at the East Expo, and quickly became popular. China has also overtaken the European Union as Cambodia's largest export market for rice. In addition, in addition to rice, some high-quality agricultural products in Cambodia also received eye-catching report cards at the East Expo. Chen Licheng, director of the Cambodian Commercial Liaison Office in Nanning, said that Cambodia's annual output of mangoes is about 1.5 million tons, and it will be officially exported to China for the first time in 2021. More cambodian high-quality agricultural products will enter China through platforms such as the physical exhibition of the East Expo and the East Expo on the Cloud, and continuously enrich China's agricultural product market.
The relevant person in charge of the Guangxi International Chamber of Commerce said that at the production end, the Guangxi International Chamber of Commerce will promote cooperation with the Cambodian Mango Association, Cambodia Hongtai Group and other units, accelerate the construction of the Cambodian National Agricultural Industrial Park, and do a solid job in the organization of Cambodia's supply sources; Expand the range of varieties of imported goods, in addition to mangoes, import bananas, rice and other Cambodian agricultural products; Cooperate with channels such as the Cloud East Expo to innovate the circulation mode of agricultural products, and strive to form a new cross-border supply chain of Chinese and Cambodian agricultural products that runs through the whole link of production, transportation and marketing.
Talking about the feelings of participating in the East Expo in recent years, Guo Dongliang used several "upgrades" to describe: "From our own point of view, product quality upgrades, packaging upgrades, corporate booth upgrades, brand image upgrades; From the perspective of the industry, in the past, there were more small and medium-sized trading companies doing Cambodian rice, and now many high-quality enterprises in the rice industry chain are also involved, and the quality of exhibitors is upgrading. Guo Dongliang looks forward to continuing to ride the east wind of the East Expo in 2022 and let Cambodia's good rice go to the table of more Chinese people.