Mango Farmers Encouraged to Register to Boost Standards

Mango Farmers Encouraged to Register to Boost Standards

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has once again called on mango growers and farmers to register their mango cultivation with the General Directorate of Agriculture.

By doing this, it is easier for MAFF’s technical officials to share information and technical training services in order to boost the production, quality and the standard of the fruit. It also enable them to form mango business clusters and work with local and international companies to sign up for contract farming and collect mangoes for processing and export.

According to MAFF, the price of agricultural products, including mangoes, has fluctuated according to their harvest season and supply and demand in the market.

The ministry added that January mango prices were higher but they dropped in February because it is mango harvesting season in Cambodia and the region and the market is flooded with product. Additionally, the pandemic has pushed prices down.

“Currently, the price of mangoes in China has fallen to around $1.10 to $1.20 per kilogramme,” said MAFF.

As a result, MAFF has put much effort into seeking more markets for Cambodian mango products, including South Korea and Japan.

Oum Savoeun, president of the Keo Romeat Mango Association in Kampong Speu province, said that his association has 45 mango grower members. Among them, 20 families are requesting recognition from MAFF because these farms meet essential safety requirements and two families are able to export to the Chinese market.

“So far, we have 45 families as members in the Keo Romeat Mango Association, covering a total of more than 4,000 hectares, with 2,000 hectares in harvest areas,” said Savoeun. However, he noted the price of mangoes has now dropped to around 200 to 300 riels per kilogramme. He added mango prices have been dropping since 2017.

Savoeun explained that local demand for mangoes has been slowing down while the supply of mangoes in the market has been rising as more people are growing the fruit.

He added local demand for mangoesconsumes 10 percent of local production.

Savoeun said that in previous years foreign markets have absorbed Cambodia surplus production, but now there are some issues with imports and exports because of COVID-19. Cambodia exports mangoes mostly to Vietnam, Thailand and China. “Mangoes cannot keep long compared with paddy, cashew nuts or coffee. If we don’t harvest them five to seven days after ripening, they will be ruined,” he said.

Cambodia has a total of 131,890 hectares of mango plantations with 93,099 hectares of that figure in harvest. The average yield is 18.78 tonnes per hectare.

The 2020 yield was 1.75 million tonnes, with 950,000 tonnes of that directed to export, according to MAFF.

The ministry also said that Cambodia has signed a protocol for the exporting of fresh mangoes to South Korea and that official exports were conducted in January of 2020.