Saturday, November 19, 2011

The First Cambodian Fruits and Vegetables Product Exhibition

By Sok Lak

The first ever exhibition of fruits and vegetables was held at Cambodiana Hotel in Phnom Penh from 1 - 2 October this year in order to boost local products with local consumers and also for exporting.

The exhibition was organized by the Ministry of Commerce to promote and upgrade the Cambodian fruit and vegetable sector in order to gain access to all the local markets so that it would gradually replace the important foreign products, especially to enable Cambodian fruits and vegetables to be more widely disbursed to the entire local consumers, organizers said. “Fruits and vegetables are Cambodian people’s traditional agricultural crops while about 85 percent of the entire Cambodian population is farmers who depend on farming as their secondary business,” H.E. Cham Prasidh, senior minister and commerce minister, said during the inauguration of the Cambodia Fruits and Vegetables show 2011.

Currently, Cambodia’s fruits and vegetables are growing well and it has started supplying them to all the markets throughout the country. However, that produce has not been more widely publicized and distributed yet.

He stressed that local fruits and vegetables harvesting by Cambodian farmers have a limited impression on consumers. This show will serve as an information event for the visitors at all levels, especially as consumers in general get to know that Cambodian fruits and vegetables are of better quality and have more natural value compared to those imported from foreign countries.

On other hand, all fruits and vegetables can also be sufficiently supplied to our local markets, particularly also to various service providing units such as hotels and restaurants of international standard.

A total of 20 booths were on hand with many Cambodian producers, service providers and farmers who are the owners of different farms such as Somafarm from Takeo province, Sedak enterprise form Phnom Penh, SuonKakseka Khmer (Khmer garden) from KompongSpeu province, SuonThamacheat (natural garden) from Phnom Penh, organic vegetable garden Amarak from Kandal province, Longa-Products Agricultural Development Association from Pailin province, SrakarNeak fruit farm in Siem Reap province, orange and longan plantations in Pur Sat and Battambang provinces and Srey Mom wholesale and retail center comprising ten units in Phnom Penh, all attending the exhibition.

Besides this, there are still many owners of other fruits and vegetable farms in many provinces who wish to participate in this show, but they cannot do it due to the limited number of booths. “We hope that in the next fairs, the Ministry of Commerce will arrange more booths so that our famers will have a chance to showcase their products of fruits and vegetables,” the Minister added.

Source: The Southeast Asia Weekly, October 2-8, 2011, Vol. 5, Issue 40, Page 10

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