Cambodia plans launch of export-import bank

Written by George McLeod
Phnom Penhnh Post - Phnom Penh,Phnom Penh,Cambodia, Wednesday, 27 May 2009

CASSAVANEWS. "There really is a capital shortage for farmers, for products such as cassava," said Sorasak Pan, secretary of state at the Ministry of Commerce. ..."

New bank would help finance small-business development as well as expansion of Cambodia’s narrow export base, say government officials

An export-import bank would help finance economic development, particularly export industries such as commercial agriculture, officials said Tuesday at an SME finance conference in Phnom Penh. BLOOMBERG CAMBODIA may launch its first export-import bank to stimulate trade and support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), officials said at a Tuesday conference on small-business financing in Phnom Penh.

Details of the bank have not been worked out, but officials said it would provide financing and other support to SMEs, particularly in the agriculture sector.

Farmers have had difficulty accessing inexpensive credit to upgrade technology and build processing facilities, even from micro-credit institutions, which often charge more than 12 percent interest.

"There really is a capital shortage for farmers, for products such as cassava," said Sorasak Pan, secretary of state at the Ministry of Commerce.

"Though Cambodian small businesses provide jobs, generate income and contribute to the country's economic development, SMEs lack formal financial support they need to expand their businesses," said a joint statement by conference organisers.

The project is backed by the Ministry of Commerce, in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance and the National Bank of Cambodia, as well as a number of international agencies including the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

The government plans to conduct a feasibility study this year, and a budget for the bank could be ready by 2010 for possible launch in the same year, Ministry of Commerce officials said.

The feasibility study would be financed by the UNDP at an estimated cost of US$60,000 to $80,000. Officials have not determined the budget for the export-import bank.

Siphana Sok, secretary of state for the Ministry of Commerce, said the bank would focus on agriculture businesses struggling for capital.

"This is a first step towards getting trade finance... The bank will play a role in trade finance and will help to diversify the country's trade," he said.

The government is focusing on agriculture as a potential growth sector for Cambodia, and has identified 19 products for export promotion.

It says that boosting agriculture would have a strong impact on poverty reduction because 85 percent of the workforce is employed in the sector and it contributes 65 percent of GDP.

But a spokesman from the Pailin Agribusiness Association said that the government should focus on opening up markets and reducing transport costs.

"We are paying $20 per tonne to export cassava, which is too expensive.... The government also needs to put pressure on the Thai government to open its borders to Cambodian products," he said.

China raises quality barrier, farm produce exporters nervous

CASSAVA NEWS. Follow up Thanh Nien Daily - Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam. Vietnamese agricultural exports are beginning to be affected after China erected new technical rubber company, who wished to be unnamed, said the volume of latex exported to China over the border has fallen since China started tightening control. The Information Center for Agriculture and Rural Development said latex exports to China could fall by 2 percent this year because of this. Vietnamese cassava exported to China too faces more stringent safety conditions.

From July 1 fresh fruits like watermelon, longan, lychee, banana and dragon fruit can only be exported to China if they are harvested and packed by registered orchards and packaging factories.

China is the biggest market for Vietnam’s agricultural exports, last year importing produce worth US$1.9 billion, mainly latex, cashew, cassava, coffee, fruits and vegetables.

Exporters feared the toughening of standards would hurt them since they are still dependent on the neighboring market. Prices of many products would drop and stockpiles would grow if China reduced imports, they said.

Nguyen Duc Thanh, acting president of the Vietnam Cashew Association, said China buys around 22 percent of the cashew Vietnam exports, but warned exporters not to depend too much on this market since its policies are constantly changing.

Instead, cashew exporters need to increase their shipments to other markets like the Middle East, the EU and Russia, he suggested.

Vo Mai, a vegetable exporter, said it is important for exporters to scout for new markets, but at the same time farmers should learn more about market demand before they start planting.

For instance, they need to know that their Chinese counterparts can grow watermelon easily now, leading to lower demand for imports, she said, pointing out that thousands of tons of the fruit rotted at the border last March.

Trade between Vietnam and China topped $20 billion last year and the figure is expected to grow to $25 billion in 2010, Vietnam News Agency reported, citing the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Source: SGTT

Uganda: Scientific Intervention is the Future of Agriculture

Joshua Kato
AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA

Kampala — BIOTECHNOLOGY is a system where bioscience is used on research to identify better yielding crops that resist certain diseases and separate other diseases that attack crops.

"The use of biotechnology eases the process of solving problems that would have taken years to solve," says Dr. Andrew Kiggundu, the head of the biotechnology centre at Kawanda. Experts in bioscience are located at key research centres in Uganda, including Kawanda and Namulonge.

Being a new system in Uganda, however, it is still dogged by beliefs that, experts say, are misconceived.

"All the misconceptions about biotechnology are not true. I have been in this field for many years. I have eaten foods that have been generated this way, but I do not have trees growing over my head," Dr. Arinaitwe, who is in charge of adding vital nutrients to matooke, says.

Dr. Arinaitwe says bananas are the most consumed food in Uganda, although they lack vital elements like Vitamin A and iron. In using biotechnology, bananas can be fortified with these major growth elements.

Dr. Titus Alicai maintains that, had it not been for biotechnology, the fight against a range of viruses ravaging crops across the country would have been much slower.

In the last 30 years, viruses have attacked coffee, cassava, bananas and other crops. Between 1993 and 1999, cassava was almost wiped out of the country by the cassava mosaic virus.

"But this process (biotechnology) helps scientists split and identify the exact viruses that are disturbing crops," he says.

The process may involve picking plant cells from one crop species and mixing it with cells from another crop species to create a better product.

Under the banana fortification project, cells from crops rich in vitamins and iron are mixed with banana cells to create a banana that is rich in vitamins and iron.

The public must be sensitised about the advantages of agricultural biotechnology for the programmes to succeed.

A brighter outlook

Thanh Nien Daily - Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam

Overall, exports of rice, gemstones, cassava and certain other primary goods increased in the last four months. Vietnam posted a trade surplus for the first four months of the year, swinging from a deficit in the same period a year earlier.The country recorded a surplus of $801 million through April, compared with a shortfall of more than $11 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Going by the economic figures for the last four months, released last week by the General Statistics Office, we might say Vietnam’s economy has bottomed and will begin to strengthen in the second quarter of 2009.


Agriculture, forestry and fisheries continued to grow, countering unemployment, inflation and fears of deflation, and assisting the export industry.

Although the industrial output growth rate was far less than the same period last year, optimistic signs can be seen.

Manufacturing growth in April reached 5.4 percent while the rate in the first quarter was only 2.6 percent.

Vietnam attracted some US$6.4 billion in foreign direct investment in the first four months of this year.

Additional investments in existing projects totaled $3.9 billion, or $1.4 billion more than newly registered investments in the period.

This fact shows investors have continued to see good results and great potential in Vietnam. Such trust is the most important thing in this time of recession.

Exports in April were down from March but some key items went up, notably electronics, footwear and garments.

Overall, exports of rice, gemstones, cassava and certain other primary goods increased in the last four months.

Vietnam posted a trade surplus for the first four months of the year, swinging from a deficit in the same period a year earlier.

The country recorded a surplus of $801 million through April, compared with a shortfall of more than $11 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Exports declined a bare 0.1 percent to $18.64 billion, while imports plunged 41 percent to $17.84 billion.

Gold re-export contributed the bulk of the surplus. Re-exporting gold was a necessary move to draw out private gold hoards, improve the trade balance, boost foreign currency reserves, and maintain the dong’s value.

The consumer price index fell for the first time in last year’s fourth quarter but rose slightly in the last four months, allaying fears of both inflation and deflation.

By Ngoc Minh