Young coconuts, a product that is often difficult to package for export, have recently become a product that countries in the region, including Cambodia, are trying to promote.
Since April 2024, Cambodia has been officially allowed to export fresh coconuts, with the launch of Cambodian coconut exports to China taking place in Phnom Penh in the presence of Sun Chanthol, Deputy Prime Minister and First Vice Chairman of the Council for the Development of Cambodia, and Wang Yi, Chinese Foreign Minister.
In this effort to open up the coconut market in China, Cambodia has received the green light from the Chinese market for approximately 13 coconut plantations. and 5 processing factories, while the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries indicated that Cambodia has planted coconuts on a total area of nearly 20,000 hectares, of which coconuts are on an area of more than 14,000 hectares or 71 percent.
This is Cambodia’s effort, but despite this, in the export list of 2024, there is still no record of the export of this crop, while Vietnam and Thailand, which are countries with extensive experience in trading agricultural crops, are competing for the coconut market.
Regarding this issue, analysts said that normally, we are still new, the process may be somewhat inconvenient, but the important thing after we export is to ensure sustainability with gradual and sustainable growth. He claimed, “The coconut market used to only have canned coconut water and canned coconut pulp, but now it’s only fresh young coconuts, so that’s our hope.” “It doesn’t have to be fast, but we move forward slowly and steadily because it is also a product in high demand in the local market.”
So far The traditional and sweet coconut plantations in Cambodia are mostly in the southwest of the country, such as in Kampot, Kep, Takeo, Sihanoukville, Koh Kong, and Kampong Speu provinces. So far, according to an article published by VN Express, Vietnam exported more than $1 billion in total in 2024, an increase of 20 percent, while the country’s coconut plantations have increased to 200,000 hectares with an annual yield of about 2 million tons.
Vietnamese coconut exports are through more than 600 plantations and processing companies, and China accounts for 20 percent of Vietnamese coconut market, in addition to the European Union, the United States, Canada, and South Korea. Thailand, on the other hand, can earn income from exporting fresh coconut products and processed into bottled coconut water, with an income of approximately $550 million per year.
Last year, Thailand claimed that the Thai export market was under pressure due to unfavorable weather conditions.
So far, a coconut in Cambodia is worth about 3,000 to 4,000 riel, but on the international market, it is about 25,000 riel per fruit.
So If Cambodia can export coconuts like Vietnam and Thailand, it will become an important source of income for farmers who grow the fruit.
