Cambodia can now export four types of fisheries products to the China, according to the Chinese embassy in Phnom Penh.
Additionally, two Cambodian fisheries exporters have been successfully registered with the Chinese customs administration, the embassy said on its official Facebook page, without disclosing the names of the companies.
Three of the fisheries products were listed as – mantis shrimp of the Squilla and Oratosquilla genera; the Monopterus genus of swamp eels; and the Chicoreus genus of carnivorous marine gastropod molluscs.
The fourth item was written in Khmer and Chinese as “live fish [Monopterus]”, where Monopterus is a genus of swamp eels native to Asia with four recognised species.
An embassy spokesman told The Post on June 18 that the item refers to sleeper gobies of the Oxyeleotris genus.
The embassy said Chinese customs "has stressed that against the backdrop of Covid-19, the Cambodian side should further strengthen controls on fisheries exported to China to adhere to the prevention of the spread of the coronavirus.
“At the same time, company employees must also strictly adhere to health guidelines to prevent Covid-19 and avoid contamination to fisheries and external packaging."
Cambodia exported a total of 3,590 tonnes of fisheries products worth more than $8.33 million in 2020, down by 74.53 per cent from 14,100 tonnes in 2019, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries reported.
Agriculture minister Veng Sakhon said the Kingdom produced a total of 936,300 tonnes of fisheries last year, with freshwater capture, marine catch and aquaculture accounting for 413,200 tonnes, 122,700 tonnes and 400,400 tonnes, respectively.
The total value of last year’s freshwater and marine capture fisheries was $1.07 billion, and aquaculture products were to the tune of $800.8 million.
