Jointly with the General Directorate of Agriculture (GDA) from the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fishery (MAFF) Cambodia the GIZ SCSI Programme introduced the revised export guidelines for mango, banana and longan on 09 August 2018 in Phnom Penh. The workshop gathered participants from SMEs, business associations, and further involved ministerial departments like CAMCONTROL from the Ministry of Commerce.
At a consultation workshop in March 2018, SCSI and its partners on site introduced the drafted export guidelines in Khmer language. During the intense group work, participants working within the banana, mango, and longan export sector gave their in-depth feedback and recommendations on the guidelines. Despite highly positive overall responds participants have shared on the guidenlines, the necessity to clarify specific technical English terms in Khmer as well as including further templates of certificates in the guidelines were further promoted as a continuum to participants’ suggestions at the consultation workshop in March this year.
The recent workshop was once again opened by the GIZ Country Director Cambodia and the General Director of GDA MAFF with both highlighting the recently signed protocol between the Cambodian and Chinese Government on exporting fresh bananas to China. Speakers as well as participants emphasised to use the induced momentum and include further agricultural products. It was also suggested that associations and cooperatives expect to receive more support and to be included in trainings on export procedures to develop their capacity further. Follow-up activities based on the guidelines and the recommendations are currently being planned and will be conducted later this year.
The guidelines aim to support Cambodian businesses to export agricultural goods to China and strengthen the public-private dialogues. They are now updated with the final version being published by the end of September on the SCSI website as well as partner websites in Cambodia.