Cambodia will seek partnerships for its small but growing rubber industry at two upcoming industry conferences, a government official said on Tuesday.
Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia are candidates to partner with Cambodia in rubber ventures, said Ly Phalla, director general of the rubber department in the Ministry of Agriculture.
To increase Cambodian rubber cultivation and production for export, Cambodian rubber officials will network with regional officials at the Oct 22 to Oct 26 meeting of the International Rubber Research Development Board in Indonesia, Ly Phalla said. The conference will include visits to the Indonesia Rubber Institute and Indonesian rubber plantations, which could inspire the Cambodian delegates, he said.
Further opportunities will be available at an Oct 27 seminar on “Asian Rubber and the Vision of the Rubber Industry” in Malaysia, he added.
“Our country is lacking in financial means, human resources and high-tech processing facilities. By partnerships with larger rubber-producing countries, we can improve Cambodian rubber cultivation,” Ly Phalla said.
Ly Phalla said he recently met with Vietnam’s state rubber company and signed an agreement to “exchange experiences.” The agreement could potentially lead to a joint venture between the two countries, he said.
Vietnamese officials plan to visit Kratie province’s Snuol district to see if its soil is suitable for growing rubber trees, he said.
By 2010, the top five rubber producing and importing countries will all be nearby, according to Vietnamese government estimates: Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India and Vietnam. Cambodia has the capacity to grow rubber trees, but lacks the ability to process the raw material.
Cambodia currently has seven state-owned rubber plantations totaling about 21,000 hectares, Ly Phalla said. An additional 10,000 hectares of rubber-tree farms are small-scale family-run plantations.
But the country’s rubber production potential is much greater —as much as 300,000 hectares—he said.
