On Friday, Prime Minister Hun Sen chaired a meeting to review the progress of the development of Cambodia’s first cashew industrial park to boost the development of the Cambodian cashew sector.
Cambodia’s first cashew industrial park is set to be built in Kampong Thom province, the country’s largest cashew-growing region.
The industrial park will cover nearly 600 hectares of land focused on cashew processing and is about 13 kilometers from Kampong Thom provincial capital.
The meeting was also attended by Mr. Sun Chanthol, Deputy Prime Minister and First Vice Chairman of the Council for the Development of Cambodia; Mr. Aun Pornmoniroth, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance; Mr. Sok Chendasophea, Deputy Prime Minister; Mr. Sok Siphanna, Senior Minister in Charge of Special Missions and Chairman of the Provincial Trade Policy Council; and Mr. Noon Pharath, Governor of Kampong Thom province, along with other senior officials.
“Leading a meeting to review the progress of the development of the cashew industrial park to boost the development of the Cambodian cashew sector,” Prime Minister Hun Sen wrote on his social media account.
Suy Kokthean, vice president of the Cambodian Cashew Association (CAC), told the Khmer Times on Sunday that it was the best thing that Prime Minister Hun Sen had paid attention to the sector personally, and that this attention was not only on paper but also by visiting the community in person.
He added that the prime minister had decided to establish a cashew industrial park in Kampong Thom province. He was confident that the cashew sector would grow faster than the rice sector in the future, as investors are gradually starting to invest in the province.
“I believe that this sector will grow rapidly in the future and Cambodia will become the king in all aspects, including quality, grain size and quantity. This sector will also grow faster than the rice sector in the next few years because the rice sector does not yet have a large industrial park like cashew,” he said.
Kampong Thom Governor Nuon Pharath told the Khmer Times that the proposed industrial park is planned to be built on more than 500 hectares of land, with a feasibility study underway to find partners for the project.
He added that Kampong Thom province has rich agricultural and industrial potential, especially in rice, rubber, cassava and cashew. The province has an area of 152,611 hectares, producing approximately 221,758 tons of cashew nuts per year.
It is worth recalling that earlier this month, Prime Minister Hun Sen also visited a cashew-growing community in Kampong Thom province and received first-hand information about cashew crops.
During a meeting with the modern agricultural community of Prasat Sambor Rung in Koul commune, Prasat Sambor district, Kampong Thom province, he learned a lot about the actual situation of cashew farming, the benefits, as well as the challenges faced by farmers.
He emphasized that “our economic development depends on the agricultural sector, and the Royal Government has paid great attention to cashew crops since the previous mandate.”
So far, Cambodia has produced 850,000 tons of cashew nuts, an increase of 26.8 percent, and exported 815,000 tons of cashew nuts, an increase of 31 percent. However, exports to Vietnam have stagnated at 793,453 tons.
