Cambodia’s rice exports to China exceed those to EU
S Korea warns it will take steps to retaliate against Japanese export curbs
CAMBODIA exported more rice to China than the EU for the first time during the first half of this year, a report from the Secretariat of One Window Service for Rice Export Formality said.
The report shows that the Kingdom’s rice exports during the first six months of this year amounted to 281,538 tonnes – up 3.7 per cent from the same period last year.
Among the 50 export destinations during the period, the Kingdom exported 118,401 tonnes to China or 42.06 per cent. The EU, which was the leading market for Cambodian rice exports, imported 93,503 tonnes (33 per cent), the report said.
Cambodia exported a total of 626,255 tonnes of rice last year, of which 43 per cent, or 269,127 tonnes, was exported to the EU while some 17,000 tonnes (27 per cent) was exported to China.
After the EU imposed tariffs on rice imported from Cambodia, China agreed in January to increase its import quota for Cambodian rice to 400,000 tonnes this year from the previous 300,000 tonnes.
Amru Rice (Cambodia) Co Ltd CEO Song Saran said Cambodian rice exports have mostly increased due to heightened demand for Jasmine rice,
which accounts for 85 per cent of total rice exports.
“We are not focusing much on quantity, but rather on the quality of exports, which can bring us higher profits,” he said.
Cambodia’s first-grade fragrant rice sells for about $930 per tonne on the international market while second-grade rise costs about $760. White rice is sold at between $360 and $450 per tonne, said Saran.
He said rice exports will increase in the second half of this year if the export volume to China reaches the 400,000tonne quota provided by their government.
Ministry of Commerce spokesman Seang Thay said the ministry and the relevant sectors are striving to open more markets for the Kingdom’s rice. He said the authorities have reduced the bureaucracy in the sector.
“Setting up warehouses and drying silos is all part of the government’s strategy to encourage more rice exports,” he said. SOUTH Korea on Thursday delivered a stern warning to Japan regarding restrictions on exports of high-tech materials to Korea, calling Japan’s decision a breach of international law and vowing “corresponding steps” if necessary.
“Japan’s export restrictions are a form of political retaliation that violate international law,” the National Security Council of the presidential Blue House said in a press release.
In the meeting, chaired by Presidential National Security Director Chung Eui-yong, council members vowed active diplomatic countermeasures to ensure that Japan reverses its decision, the Blue House said.
Earlier in the day, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki vowed to take “corresponding measures”, which may include lodging a complaint with the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
“We clearly take [ Japan’s export curbs] as economic retaliation against [the Korean] judiciaries’ ruling on the forced labour cases,” Hong said in an interview with radio broadcaster CBS.
“It would be very unfortunate not only for the Korean economy, but also for the Japanese economy and the global economy.”
Given that settling disputes at the WTO is a time-consuming processes, he said Korea would also take “other necessary measures under domestic and international laws”. He did not specify details.
The fiscal policymaker’s remarks follow an announcement from the Japanese government of its intention to restrict exports of high-tech industrial materials needed to make semiconductors and computer displays.
Samsung Electronics and other Korean chipmakers rely on the materials to produce components that are essential to their business operations.
Japan is also expected to remove Korea from its list of trusted buyers. To purchase the materials from Japan, Korean companies would need to undertake a complicated approval processes that can last up to 90 days.
Faced with mounting criticism from Korea, the Japanese government has asserted that its export restrictions comply with WTO regulations. It argues that each country has the right to control its exports.
“Export control is conducted by each government autonomously,” Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasutoshi Nishimura on Thursday said during a regular press briefing. “Our measure complies with the WTO regulations.”
Despite Japan’s defence of its action as an exception to international trade regulations, Korea asserted that it violates the spirit of free trade that is enshrined in various international norms.
During an emergency meeting in Seoul, Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee reiterated that Japan had violated WTO regulations, which bans export restrictions on goods. The minister also stressed that the Japanese measure contradicts a commitment to free trade that Japan made during the recent Group of 20 summit in Osaka.
In particular, Yoo said, the Japanese decision clashes with the Wassenaar Arrangement, to which Korea and Japan are both parties. The agreement stipulates that export controls on high-tech materials and other strategic goods must not target “specific countries”.
“We strongly demand that Japan repeal its export control measure … If Japan is a responsible [party] to the export control treaty on strategic goods, it should respond to our calls for bilateral consultations,” said Yoo.