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China is expected to supply fuel and chemical fertilizers to Cambodia as Middle East tensions rise again following the US-Iran conflict which caused energy prices to skyrocket over the last few months.
Global fuel prices have come down in recent weeks since negotiations began and an interim peace agreement put in place between the warring parties.
The Commerce Ministry said via Facebook that gasoline price has been set at 4,350 riel ($1.08) per liter between June 23 and 30, down from 4,600 riel in the previous week. Diesel prices fell from 4,700 riel to 4,250 riel, ($1.05) per liter at the time.
Senate president Hun Sen, who was in China for an official visit from June 25 to 27, held high-level talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Ly Qiang.
The Chinese top leaders “promised” Hun Sen, who is also Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) president, that China would supply fuel and chemical fertilizers, and encourage Chinese companies to raise investment in the country, ruling CPP spokesperson Chea Thirith told the press on Saturday.
“I can’t verify when the fuel supply and fertilizers would begin. It depends on negotiations between the two governments,” Thirith told CamboJA News.
He added that Prime Minister Hun Manet will pay an official visit to China at the end of July.
With increased supply of fuel and chemical fertilizers, which are “very important for the agricultural sector”, Cambodia would be better prepared to avoid an energy crisis.
Cambodia imports most of its fuel and fertilizer. Government data showed the country imported about $420 million worth of fertilizer and nearly $218 million worth of pesticides last year, with fertilizer imports rising by about $26 million from a year earlier.
A farmer, Oum Puy, believes that importing fertilizer from China will help reduce prices.
“It is a good thing because our farmers rely on imported products, but we need to ensure that the fertilizer imported from China is of good quality,” he said.
Puy currently buys fertilizer from private vendors who import from Vietnam. It costs around $45 for a 50-kilogram sack, nearly double the price from the same period last year.
Many farmers in Battambang province previously used fertilizer from Thailand but since the border conflict, he said, they shifted to Vietnam imports and locally-produced fertilizers.
Agriculture Ministry spokesperson Khim Finan declined to comment.
Bilateral trade between Cambodia and China for the first five months this year reached $9.39 billion, up 22.9% compared to the same period, according to a local news report.
CPP’s Thirith mentioned that China’s Jinping reaffirmed his commitment to support Cambodia’s territorial sovereignty and safeguard its security.
