Pailin Longans Win Over Chinese Market
Cambodian fresh longan is on display at an event marking the first direct export of Cambodian longan to China in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Oct. 27, 2022. Photo by Phearum/Xinhua
- By Chhum Chantha
- July 11, 2023 4:46 PM
PHNOM PENH – China has become the biggest export market for Pailin province longans in the first six months of 2023, and the country has already set purchase prices for the coming harvest season, giving farmers visibility over their potential profits.
Sar Chamroeun, a representative from the Pailin Longan Community Council, said in the first six months of 2023, the number of Cambodian logan exports increased, with China taking the lion’s share of the local production.
As of July 2023, Pailin longans are traded for 4,300 riel (about $1.05) per kilogram, which guarantees a good income for local farmers, particularly after a drop in exports over the last few years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Most of our production goes directly to China, while only a small part of it is to supply the Cambodian market,” said Chamroeun. “The current price is good because we start to make a profit when we sell a kilogram of fruit at 3,000 riel [around $0.75].”
Pailin longan’s harvest season will start in August. From August to December, China stated it will buy a kilogram of longan for 3,600 riel (around $0.88). Prices have then been set at 4,000 riel (nearly $1) per kilogram for the January-February 2024 period, and at 4,500 riel (about $1.10) from March to May.
Chamroeun expects the yield of Pailin logans to increase despite the lack of rain as farmers have started to take care of the trees again, after several years of neglect.
“This year is dry, so I can’t be certain of the harvest. But based on my analysis, the yield of this year will be greater than last year, as people who went through the negative impacts of COVID-19 returned to take care of their longan a lot this year,” he said.
So far, both production and exports have surged. In the first six months of 2023, 6,725 metric tons of longans were exported overseas.
In comparison, for the 12 months of 2022, only a total of 3,155 tons of the fruit were exported to international markets, of which 2,942 tons went to China and 212 tons to Vietnam, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries.
Cambodia cultivates a total of 12,837 hectares of longans, and harvests around 10,500 hectares per year, based on data from the Ministry.
Originally written in Khmer for ThmeyThmey, this story was translated by Te Chhaysinh for Cambodianess.
