PHNOM PENH: Only days after the Cambodian prime minister’s return from China, the two countries have signed an agreement to make way for the export of fresh coconuts from Cambodia to China. On September 15, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries signed a protocol agreement on plant health requirements with China’s General Administration of Customs, paving the way for Cambodia to begin exporting fresh coconuts to the world’s largest coconut importer.

According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, the world coconut trade brought in nearly $2 billion in trade in 2021, with Indonesia being the top exporter and China the top importer by a wide margin. For that year the top exporters of coconuts were Indonesia ($471M), the Philippines ($379M) Thailand ($314M) and Vietnam ($159M). China imported $429 million worth of fresh and dried coconut that year with the US trailing far behind, purchasing $196 million of coconuts from abroad. Since making export agreements with the US and China, however, Vietnam is expected to boost its export revenue from coconuts to nearly $1 billion by 2025.

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture, Im Rachana, said that Cambodian coconut farmers and the owners of coconut processing plants should apply for registration if they are interested in participating in the Chinese export market. Those selected will be inspected in line with Chinese import requirements on plant health. “The ministry will work with farmers to ensure that they grow coconuts in accordance with the sanitary and phytosanitary standards set by the General Administration of Customs of China,” she added. A list of approved coconut plantations and processing plants will be sent to China in early December 2023 for review and evaluation before any final decisions are made.

Cambodia currently has 17,000 hectares of coconut plantations, of which 14,000 hectares are ready for harvest, yielding a total of 248,000 tonnes for 2022.