Phnom Penh: H.E. Samheng Bora, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Commerce and Chairman of the Export Promotion Task Force, led high-level discussions on January 23-24 with Japan’s top three leading rice importers. The discussions focused on enhancing Cambodian rice exports to the Japanese market.

According to Agence Kampuchea Presse, the Secretary of State emphasized the Ministry of Commerce’s commitment to expanding agricultural exports through the Export Promotion Task Force. He highlighted the Royal Government’s efforts to align Cambodian rice with international quality standards and discussed a broader vision for fostering trade relations and exploring new avenues for cooperation between Cambodia and Japan.

Japanese companies showed a strong interest in Cambodia’s rice sector, recognizing its potential and expressing optimism about incorporating Cambodian rice into their supply chains. Both parties expressed a positive and collaborative attitude, reaffirming their shared commitment to promoting Cambodian rice in Japan and strengthening bilateral trade ties.

Japan’s top three leading rice importers collectively hold 80 percent of the Japanese market share, including ITOCHU Corporation, the country’s largest rice importer. Cambodia exported around 651,000 tonnes of milled rice to international markets last year, marking a slight decrease of 0.7 percent from 656,000 tonnes in 2023, as reported by the Cambodia Rice Federation.

The Kingdom generated US$491 million from rice exports in 2024, an increase of 5.3 percent from the US$466 million recorded in 2023.