PHNOM PENH: The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) is set to organize the first-ever Cambodia Aquaculture Exhibition at the Sunshine Night Market in Phnom Penh on December 6-7, 2024.

According to Agence Kampuchea Presse, the event aims to increase public awareness about the quality of farmed fish in Cambodia. It plans to enhance understanding of feed, species, supplies, and new technologies in aquaculture. Another focus is to encourage communication and collaboration among stakeholders within the aquaculture value chain, as well as to develop a mechanism for sharing knowledge, experiences, and lessons learned to improve the Cambodian aquaculture marketing system.

At the National Fisheries Day 2024 celebration held on July 1 in Kampong Cham province, Prime Minister Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet underscored the importance of boosting quality control, safety, processing capacity, and fishery value chains to enhance the competitiveness of Cambodian fishery products in both domestic
and foreign markets.

The Prime Minister also urged development partners and the private sector to offer more support through technology and capital provision, including low-interest financing, to promote the aquaculture industry and the processing of Cambodian fishery products.

In 2023, Cambodia reported fishery catches of approximately 866,250 tonnes, marking an increase of 4,050 tonnes, or about one percent compared to 2022. However, the country’s aquaculture output experienced a year-on-year decrease of 5.02 percent, falling to 314,000 tonnes last year.