No Duty for Rice to EU; Challenges Remain

By Ros Sothea, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
09 September 2009

The European Union began a deal this month to allow Cambodian rice to be imported duty-free, but many challenges remain before Cambodia can be a powerhouse rice producer.

The deal would open a market of 500 million people from 27 countries and “provide a price incentive for European importers to import the product from Cambodia,” said Rafael Dochao Moreno, Charge d’Affaires of the European Commission in Cambodia.

“So by providing this zero-duty entry for Cambodian rice, we are promoting Cambodia’s development, especially in the sector of rice production.”

The duty-free status for Cambodian rice is part of the EU’s “Everything But Arms” initiative, which was established in 2001 and gives preferences on all goods, except weapons, entering the EU from 50 least-developed countries. Click to read more...