Things have been pretty busy down at the port lately. On September 16, Minister of Agriculture Dith Tina headed down to Sihanoukville to watch a 10,000-tonne bulk carrier blast its horn and set off. It is the first time City Rice and Dilai Trading have teamed up for a direct bulk shipment like this, sending rice straight to the Philippines instead of messing around with the slow process of packing and moving individual containers like before.
Local officials pointed out that switching to bulk carriers makes loading much faster and cuts shipping costs big time, giving our rice a better edge on the international market. In the first eight months of this year, we have already shipped over 120,000 tonnes of rice to the Philippines, making up well over 15 percent of our total exports. On top of that, the Cambodia Rice Federation has signed a new deal to send another 80,000-plus tonnes over between September and the end of the year.
Add it all up, and total rice exports to the Philippines are expected to top 200,000 tonnes this year. Folks at the Ministry of Agriculture have been crunching the numbers and reckon total rice exports for the whole year have a great shot at passing one million tonnes, beating last year's record. People around town are saying that none of this would be possible without the government and private sector joining forces to open doors and help our rice go further.
