The Ministry of Commerce, through its Green Trade Company (GTC), sold more than 62 tonnes of milled rice, as well as a handful of other essential food products to people in designated red zones from April 15-19.
The ministry said it sold 1,241 50kg sacks of milled rice, 4,620 boxes of noodles, 1,153 boxes of fish sauce, 785 boxes of soy sauce, 1,627 cans of fish, 140 packs of drinking water, 115kg of vegetables, 13kg of sausages and 356 bags of chhay pov – or sun-dried preserved daikon radishes – during that time.
On April 20, the ministry dispatched five trucks to the red zones to sell food products and groceries at below-market prices during the lockdown. It has also set up 11 temporary stalls to sell essential groceries to the people.
Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) secretary-general Lun Yeng told The Post on April 24 that members of the federation working with the ministry sold about 2,000 tonnes of rice from April 16-23, and that figure is expected to increase once transport restrictions are eased.
He said: "While transport isn’t entirely smooth sailing, [Phnom Penh] Municipal Hall has made it easier for us to move [product] into some of the lockdown areas.”
CRF estimates reveal that monthly demand for milled rice in Phnom Penh and adjacent Takmao town stands at around 40,000 tonnes, federation president Song Saran told The Post on April 19.
