Mong Reththy Group will become the first Cambodian exporter to ship authorised consignments of mangoes from the South East Asian nation, according to media reports.
The Phnom Penh-based company has entered a joint venture with Singaporean company King Fruit, which will see the construction of a US$2m mango processing facility in the Preah Sihanouk province.
Although Cambodian mango production has increased significantly over the last decade, Mong Reththy Group president, Oknha Mong Reththy, said a lack of post-harvest infrastructure has hindered the mango industry’s quest to establish direct access for its fruit in international markets.
Consequently, the majority of the Cambodian crop is currently absorbed by the domestic market or sent to neighbouring markets such as Vietnam and Thailand via unauthorised traders, who then package the fruit and ship it to China.
Reththy said the new facility would ensure Cambodian mangos met all sanitary standards imposed by foreign authorities, opening up new export opportunities and improving farm-gate returns.
“We seek to export directly to Singapore, Japan and Korea,” Reththy told The Phnom Penh Post.
“The factory will contribute to increase the price of mangoes for Cambodian farmers.”
The facility is expected to commence operations in late 2014.
