Fast Facts about Cambodia’s Agriculture Sector

·         Agriculture accounts for 22 percent of Cambodia’s GDP, and employs about 3 million people.

·         Agricultural exports – including rice, cassava, maize, pepper, fresh mango, and raw palm oil – reached 4.2 million tons in 2018.

·         U.S.-Cambodia agriculture trade is about $220 million per year, lots of potential for growth.

·         Cambodia’s agriculture exports to the United States were $157 million in 2018, a new record.  Most were wood products ($134 million), followed by pet food and rice.

·         U.S. exports of agricultural products to Cambodia were $62 million in 2018.  Leading categories include soybean meal ($13 million), distillers grains ($12 million), prepared food ($6 million).

·         U.S. agriculture exports to Cambodia have grown by 422% between 2010-2018.

·         Rice makes up half of Cambodia’s agricultural GDP. Cambodia is one of the top 10 rice exporters in the world – exported 620,000 tons in 2019.

·         Only 70% of Cambodia’s vegetable and fruit demand is produced locally; the rest are imported, mainly from Thailand and Vietnam.

·         Programs including USAID’s Feed the Future Harvest II works to boost commercial production of horticulture products – including mango, cashew nuts, and pepper.

·         CAST (Commercial Agricultural for Sustainable Trade) is a USDA Food for Progress project designed to develop a lasting aquaculture industry in Cambodia to help meet the growing the demand for animal and aquaculture-sourced protein.

·         The country’s aquaculture industry demand for soybean protein is projected to reach 100,000 metric tons per year by 2030.