Mondulkiri honey, dried octopus from Koh Kong and Banteay Meanchey silk thread, spooled from vivid yellow cocoons, were some of the Cambodian products showcased at yesterday’s launch of the 5th annual Export-Import and One Province One Product Exhibition in Phnom Penh.
More than 230 foreign and domestic companies as well as 24 provinces and Phnom Penh municipality are exhibiting their wares in Diamond Island’s Convention Center until Saturday, aiming to promote their goods for export and encourage foreign investment.
The One Province One Product theme encourages consumers to identify products with a particular province, like Kampot pepper.
Finance Minister Keat Chhon said yesterday while touring the booths that the promotion was proving to be successful, although he did not have export figures at hand.
“Each province has many products, but they each have high-profile products that doesn’t only sell in local market but also for export,” he said.
Khuon Chansarith, a sales representative from Siem Reap province, said his main product was prahok, or fermented fish paste, but he was also showing rice, as it offered a better shot at being exported worldwide.
“Our prahok is only needed in some regions,” he said.
Most of the provinces chose to hedge their bets, signaling their openness to investment in lucrative cash crops by displaying baskets of maize, cashews, soybeans, peanuts and cassava alongside traditional wares such as woven fabric and basketry. Some, like Kompong Speu, showcased glossy photographs of existing agribusiness operations.
Seang Peng Sreang, director of the Kompong Cham provincial department of commerce, said his stall was displaying a range of products, including bananas, rice and maize, because he wanted to show that Kompong Cham province has potential in almost every sector.
“It is the blood vein of the country’s economy,” he said.
But he added that if there was one product in particular his province was pushing for investment in this year, it was rubber.
“We have 40,000 tons of rubber production from Kompong Cham per year, and to date we have exported only raw material, not finished product,” he said. “If investment comes we hope to build a factory for car wheels.”
