Cambodia & Agriculture: Rice exports reach historic highs in 2025

Cambodia's rice exports to international markets saw a remarkable surge during the first seven months of 2025, generating more than $1.2 billion in revenue, a significant increase of nearly 15% compared to the same period last year.

In total, 65 countries and territories around the world have sourced Cambodian rice, a tangible sign of the growing vitality of this key sector for the national economy

According to a report published on 7 August by the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF), between January and July, 420,572 tonnes of milled rice crossed the kingdom's borders, generating $309.32 million. By way of comparison, during the same period in 2024, Cambodia exported 379,546 tonnes, generating revenue of $280 million, highlighting significant progress in both volume and value.

Europe stands out as the main partner with 200,772 tonnes imported into 26 countries, worth $156.92 million. Next come China and its autonomous regions with 105,621 tonnes ($62.13 million), the ASEAN countries (seven members) with 57,179 tonnes ($40.14 million) and finally other markets spread across 32 countries, which purchased 57,000 tonnes ($50.13 million).

The diversity of Cambodian rice continues to appeal: fragrant rice, the flagship of the region, accounts for 77.65% of exports. White rice follows with 15.61%, then parboiled rice (3.27%), organic rice (2.61%) and finally other varieties (0.86%).

In addition to milled rice, the country also exported 3,873,078 tonnes of paddy rice during the same period, generating revenue of $914.21 million. This growth far exceeds the figures for the previous year, when 2,711,179 tonnes were exported, generating $784.6 million.

Song Saran, chairman of the CRF board of directors, attributes this success to a decade of increased government support.

‘The husking mills have seen their capacities increase thanks to a series of public initiatives: tax exemptions, simplification of export procedures, dedicated financial support through the Rural and Agricultural Development Bank, modernisation of irrigation systems and a strong focus on seed and crop development,’ he explains.

Thanks to these solid foundations, annual rice production jumped from over 8 million to over 14 million tonnes in 2024, ensuring food security for the kingdom while enabling the export of over 650,000 tonnes of milled rice and 5 million tonnes of paddy rice in the same year.

For the record, in 2024, Cambodia sold 651,522 tonnes of milled rice for 491.19 million dollars and exported 5.18 million tonnes of paddy rice for a record 1.496 billion dollars.

The performance recorded in 2025 thus confirms Cambodia's status as one of Asia's new breadbaskets, capable of combining tradition, quality and competitiveness on the world stage.