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Phnom Penh, 30th September 2022 - Another consultation workshop was organized as part of a joint project between ARISE Plus Cambodia and the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC). This second workshop had two main objectives. One was to follow up on the process to find solutions for export-related issues common to SMEs, such as ISO certification, which were raised by SMEs in the 1st consultation workshop back on 08th July2022. Second was to discuss and gather additional issues, which CCC then further coordinates with relevant government agencies through respective Private Sector Working Groups (P-SWG). This workshop was presided by His Excellency Nguon Meng Tech, President of CCC, and Mr. Udo Gaertner, Team Leader of Component 3, ARISE+ Cambodia.
Main issues brought by participating SMEs in this workshop include the following:
- Unavailable export market information (such as sector statistics)
- Export Certification, i.e. Phytosanitary Certificate for fresh produce export may take up to three days, which is unsuitable for highly perishable goods, such as fresh vegetables
- Transport volume limit per container by truck (i.e. 22 tons maximum for dried fruit) makes Cambodian SMEs less competitive. In comparison, it is allowed for up to 25 tons for rice sector in Cambodia while the standard truck transport volume in neighboring countries is roughly 26 tons.
- Pepper Policy should be prioritized by the Ministry of Commerce
Once respective PSWGs receive the documented issues from CCC, they will be discussed in detail to find solutions among the working group members. The PSWG membership consists of representatives of the private sector and relevant line ministries. Where necessary, more than one PSWG will be involved in this process, for example the PSWG on SMEs might need to discuss and coordinate an issue together with the working group on agriculture. Those issues, that cannot be resolved at the level of PSWGs, will be submitted to the Government-Private Sector Forum (G-PSF), which takes place twice per year, for negotiating solutions at a higher national level.
The workshop was organized through a hybrid mode – physical and virtual via Zoom meeting – which encouraged more participation by SMEs who are based outside Phnom Penh. There were totally 83 participants (16 physically and 67 virtually), who are private sector businesses in different sectors and locations, representatives of the rice federation, spice and pepper federation, CCC and the ARISE Plus Cambodia team.
For more information, please contact:
Mr. Youssey LAK, Trade Information and Advocacy –Advisor
E-mail: youssey.lak@gopa.de
