Tag: Cambodia

  • New Tobacco Health Warnings in Cambodia

    New Tobacco Health Warnings in Cambodia

    Image: ATIC

    New tobacco health warning requirements took effect in Cambodia today, according to The Phnom Penh Post.

    The amended rules require cigarette manufacturers to print textual and pictorial messages on 55 percent of each tobacco product pack warning consumers that smoking can lead to heart disease and fatal emphysema.

    Retailers may continue to sell existing legally compliant and tax-paid tobacco products until they are depleted in the marketplace.

    In the runup to the directive, the Association of Tobacco Industry in Cambodia (ATIC) produced and distributed an informational poster about the new rules to more than 20,000 retail outlets across the Kingdom.

    “Our members have printed the new textual and graphic health warning on our product packs,” said ATIC President Roy Manalili. “The association is pleased to follow and support the authorities in this process to promote public health and strengthen fair competition.”

    A Kantar study on illicit tobacco trade across Cambodia last year found 3.4 million out of 4.7 million packs complied with the then-prevailing health warning requirements.

    Eighteen percent of noncompliant packs were identified as illicit product.

    “It was believed that the ministry’s prioritized action to enforce and strengthen the existing regulations on the tobacco products with no pictorial health warning would be a much more important step than releasing new pictorial health warning or enlarging it,” said Manalili.

    “Better enforcement would increase the level playing field in the market for a transparent business environment in line with the latest government’s policy reform.”

  • Cambodia Tobacco Exports Down

    Cambodia Tobacco Exports Down

    Photo: camvalleys

    Cambodia’s tobacco exports dropped more than 50 percent in the first nine months of 2021 from the comparable period last year, reports The Khmer Times, citing data from the country’s ministry of agriculture.

    From January to September, Cambodia exported 2,514 tons of tobacco to eight countries, including Vietnam, Belgium, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, Indonesia, Singapore and Germany.

    The biggest destinations were Vietnam (2,432 tons), Belgium (59.42 tons). Hungary (19.80 tons) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (1.9 tons).

    Last year, Cambodia exported 5,820 tons of dried tobacco worth a total of $17.4 million.

    Cambodia’s tobacco is grown along the Mekong Delta in areas such as Tboung Khmum and Kampong.  

  • Vietnam Extends Quota for Cambodian Leaf

    Vietnam Extends Quota for Cambodian Leaf

    Photo: BAT

    Vietnam has extended its 3,000-ton duty-free quota for Cambodian dried tobacco leaves for 2021, reports the Phnom Penh Post, citing Ministry of Commerce spokesman Seang Thay.

    The extension is part of the renewal process of a bilateral trade facilitation agreement for 2021–2022 reached by the 18th Cambodia-Vietnam Joint Commission meeting on Dec. 22 and yet to be formally ratified, with retroactive benefits for exports.

    Cambodia and Vietnam inked the agreement in October 2016 to drop import tariffs on dozens of products to boost bilateral trade and have renewed it every two years since. The goods covered in the deal, however, are determined on a yearly basis.

    The kingdom exported 1.38 million kg of dried tobacco to Vietnam last year valued at $4.2 million, down 34.37 percent by volume from 2019, according to ministry data.

    Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries data shows that Cambodia exported a total of 5.82 million kg of dried tobacco leaves last year, down 14.02 percent from 2019.

    The outbound shipments were worth $17.46 million, 28.34 percent compared to 2019’s value.

    The primary destinations for Cambodian leaf are Vietnam, Indonesia, Hungary, the United Arab Emirates, Belgium, South Africa, Greece, Singapore and Germany.

    Last year, the area under tobacco cultivation was 5,175 ha, of which 4,875 ha were harvested, producing 6,132 tons, representing a 1 percent drop from 2019.

  • Cambodia Cracks Down on Heating Products

    Cambodia Cracks Down on Heating Products

    Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Cambodia’s National Authority for Combating Drugs (NACD) has instructed all relevant ministries and institutions to take immediate action to stop the use and commercialization of heated-tobacco products (HTPs), reports The Phnom Penh Post.

    “All forms of trafficking, trading and importation of HTPs must be stopped, and information on import restrictions must be disseminated to all vendors and the public,” the NACD stated in a directive.

    Citing the World Health Organization, the NACD said the use of cigars, electronic nicotine-delivery systems (ENDS) and HTPs can lead to serious lung disease and even death. The announcement further said that using these products is also a motivating factor for people to use other illegal drugs.

    Cambodia has restricted ENDS since February 2014, but its guidelines did not cover newer HTPs.

    Deputy National Police Chief Mak Chito said that in the past, the authorities had confiscated many of these products. He said that although some other countries consider the use of these products legal, Cambodia does not allow it.

    “In Cambodia, there are also bad people who are cheating by using methamphetamines or marijuana [with these devices],” he said.

  • Cambodian Leaf Tobacco Exports Down

    Cambodian Leaf Tobacco Exports Down

    Image: Gordon Johnson from Pixabay

    Cambodia exported more than 5.8 million kg of leaf tobacco worth more than $17 million to nine countries last year, reports The Phnom Penh Post, citing figures provided by the ministry of agriculture. The numbers were down 14 percent and 28 percent, respectively, over 2019.

    Buyers of Cambodian leaf included Vietnam, Indonesia, Hungary, the United Arab Emirates, Belgium, South Africa, Greece, Singapore and Germany.

    In 2016, Cambodia and Vietnam agreed on preferential duties for agriculture products crossing their shared border. The Kingdom was allowed to export 3,000 tons of dried tobacco to Vietnam duty-free each year starting in 2016 under the agreement, which was renewed thrice for 2017–2019.

    The average wholesale price for high-quality tobacco now ranges from KHR8,500 ($2.10) to KHR10,000 per kg.

    Last year, the area under tobacco cultivation in Cambodia was 5,175 ha, of which 4,875 ha was harvested, representing a 1 percent drop from 2019, ministry statistics show.

  • Illegal Factory Raided in Phnom Penh

    Illegal Factory Raided in Phnom Penh

    Photo: noah4ever from Pixabay

    Cambodian Police raided an illegal cigarette factory in Phnom Penh on Aug. 11 and arrested 20 staff, reports Phnom Penh Post.
     
    Officers confiscated many popular Chinese cigarette brands, including Furong Wang, Nanjing and Shuang Xi.
     
    Based in the capital’s Por Sen Chey district, the factory had been operating illegally for two years and employed more than 100 workers, according to a representative of the Ministry of Interior’s counter counterfeit committee.
     
    “B.P.A Bopea Asia Co. Ltd produces many brands of cigarette for China, but we do not know which fake logos were meant for which markets,” he said.
     
    Staff arrested for questioning included 14 Chinese, three Vietnamese and a Cambodian translator.
     
    Cambodia Movement for Health Executive Director Mom Kong said he supported the effort to shut down the factory. He called on police to search for other illegal ones.
     
     “We want to see law enforcement in inspecting tobacco products to enhance public health in Cambodia,” he said.

  • Production down 18 percent

    Production down 18 percent

    Cambodia’s leaf-tobacco production fell last year, according to a story in The Phnom Penh Post citing figures from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

    Cambodia produced 7,454 tons of tobacco last year on 5,743 ha, down respectively 18 percent from 9,089 tons and 16 percent from 6,859 ha the previous season.

    Sum Ra, an agricultural office holder in Tbong Khmum province, the country’s largest producer of leaf, said tobacco cultivation had decreased during the past few years due to market fluctuations.

    “Tobacco cultivation is not much of a challenge; it is easy to grow along the river,” he said.

    “Tobacco cultivation increases and decreases depending on market fluctuations. Farmers will alternate with corn if the tobacco market is not good.”

    Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce spokesman Seang Thay said on Monday that Cambodia still enjoyed preferential duty-free market access to Vietnam for agricultural products, including tobacco.

    Under the agreement with Vietnam, Cambodia exported 1,200 tons of tobacco worth $2.37 million to Vietnam during 2017, whereas during 2016 it exported to Vietnam 989.75 tons valued at $1.91 million.

  • Prices 'not much different'

    Prices 'not much different'

    Cambodia last year exported to Vietnam more than 1,000 tons of leaf tobacco valued at more than US$2 million, according to a story in The Phnom Penh Post.
    The figure marks a 24 percent increase from that of 2016, the Ministry of Commerce was quoted as saying.
    Ministry spokesman Long Kemvichet said Cambodia had last year exported to Vietnam 1,200 tons of leaf tobacco worth US$2.37 million, up from 989.75 tons worth US$1.91 million in 2016.
    In 2016, Cambodia and Vietnam agreed on preferential duties for agriculture products crossing their shared border.
    Under the one-year agreement, Cambodia could export 3,000 tons of leaf tobacco to Vietnam duty-free.
    However, Kemvichet said it was unclear if the agreement would be renewed for this year.
    “We do not have any update from our team as yet regarding the tobacco deal with Vietnam,” he said.
    Cambodia produced 9,089 tons of tobacco last season, an increase of 37 percent on the previous season’s harvest, according to figures from the Ministry of Agriculture.
    Last season’s harvest war produced on an area of 6,859 ha, which was increased by 19 percent on that used to produce the 2016 harvest.
    Neang Bros, a broker in Stung Treng district, Kampong Cham province, who buys tobacco from farmers, was quoted as saying that the price of tobacco was about 8000 riel (US$2) per kg, depending on quality.
    “I have a lot of buyers coming to my house to buy from me,” he said. “The market is better than a year before but the price is not much different.”

  • Production peccadillo

    Production peccadillo

    The Counter Counterfeit Committee (CCC) of Cambodia’s Interior Ministry has suspended a company’s tobacco-manufacturing operations at a factory in the Sen Sok district of Phnom Penh after officials found that it was involved in the unlicensed production of tobacco products, according to a story in The Khmer Times.
    Touch Yuthea, deputy secretary of the CCC, said that officials of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court had found evidence of unlicensed production when they inspected the factory on June 18.
    “We found that the facility had no permission to produce but we still don’t know if those cigarettes are fake,” Yuthea said.
    A notice issued by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court’s deputy prosecutor Ngin Pich confirmed that police and CCC officials had suspended production at the factory. The notice said also that floor manager, Lin Ruibing, a Chinese national, had been questioned.
    Yuthea said that, following the inspection, officials had searched for the owner, who was thought to be a Chinese national, but could not locate him.
    “We are looking for the owner and other stakeholders behind this case,” he said.
    “If the owner is running an illegal cigarette production facility then it is just a small offence,” he said.
    “But if we find out those are fake cigarettes, then it’s a criminal offence.”
    Officials confiscated packs of cigarettes with brand names such as Marlboro and LM, which are to be submitted as evidence in the case.

  • Reforming in Cambodia

    Reforming in Cambodia

    Japan Tobacco International (JTI), one of Cambodia’s biggest cigarette distributors, has said that it is rejoining the Association of the Tobacco Industry of Cambodia (ATIC) following a recent ATIC promise to combat illegal cigarette sales and fake products, according to a story in The Phnom Penh Post.
    The company left the association in the middle of 2016.
    The ATIC said it had organized an annual meeting last week and decided to regroup to tackle issues that had put the industry at risk, including illegal cigarette sales, fake products, packs with non-pictorial health warnings, and products which did not have legitimate tax stamps.
    Cormac O’Rourke, the general manager of JTI Cambodia, which distributes Camel, Winston and Mevius brands, said his company’s rejoining of ATIC would raise the commitment of all members and players to adhere to the relevant laws and regulations that benefitted the entire industry.
    “The illegal trade of tobacco products is, by far, the industry’s biggest challenge,” he was quoted as saying. “It is severely damaging tobacco companies, the industry, public health agenda and the national economy.”
    In July 2016, JTI ended its affiliation with the ATIC because, it said, the association had failed to create a ‘level playing field’ by allowing unmarked imported cigarettes to flood the market, despite legislation requiring tobacco packaging to carry graphic images and warning labels.
    ATIC President Matt Naumann said the group had decided to make major reforms to its structure and direction to drive compliance in the tobacco sector for a ‘One Industry’ standard.
    The recent reform had led to changes in membership, he added. The Viniton Group had left the association while JTI had rejoined.
    The ATIC now comprises Philip Morris International, Houtraco, British American Tobacco Cambodia and JTI (Cambodia) as official members.