Cambodia’s Aquacultural Sectors Shifts Toward Commercial Scale
As the nation’s aquaculture sector moves from small-scale production to commercial, various measures are needed to elevate the sector to enable it to export to international markets.
As Cambodia’s aquaculture sector shifts toward commercial scale, the Cambodian Aquacultural Association (CAA) warns that the absence of clear technical standards remains a major hurdle for international export.
Despite some aquaculters expanding into commercial activities to cater to domestic demand, CAA said a lack of technical standards and clear government protections prevents Cambodian fish from reaching global markets.
Lempho Suthavaridh, of CAA, told Kiripost that Cambodia’s aquaculture sector garners high local demand, but does not strongly support the needs for export or international markets. However, he acknowledged that the sector has improved in recent years and can now compete with neighbouring countries.
Suthavaridh noted that the sector has seen a shift from small-scale to commercial to support local demand. However, Cambodia also relies on the import of certain products to cater to this.
"Even though the aquaculture sector in Cambodia hasn’t exported to other countries yet, it supports the local market mostly. We also import from other countries to complete local demand,” Suthavaridh said.
He added that the aquaculture sector continues to develop. “Aquaculture sectors nowadays are strengthening themselves from one day to another to apply in the markets,” Suthavaridh stated.
However, he stressed that Cambodia’s aquaculture sector currently does not have enough capacity to export to international markets, noting that imports are starting to increase. Although Suthavaridh said he does not have any export data yet.
He recommended that players in the sector seeking to export their fisheries products seek advice from CAA on what techniques need to be implemented, especially good farm management, and how to approach the market and business opportunities.
Suthavaridh also called on the government, who are the law makers, to develop better aquaculture policies.
Regarding importing fish, he called for buyers to follow clear principles. Check how much of the fish is available locally and the volume that needs to be imported, and avoid importing too much as it will create challenges for local farmers.
Talking to journalists at a press conference on December 18, Prak Davit, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said the Cambodian Fisheries Law is outdated and needs to be updated.
He said a new law was drawn up in mid-2025 and is going through the process of being approved. “Our laws need various tactical standards so that we can implement the law. We need to prepare a subpoena, a declaration, so that we can implement the law,” Suthavaridh said.
According to Suthavaridh, Cambodia’s fish exports can mainly be divided into two categories: aquaculture and freshwater exports, with fresh water accounting for about two-thirds and the remainder coming from aquaculture.
“A small portion comes from marine fisheries. Because our seafood does not have many exports, we have not overlooked solving some problems, which will allow us to remove the red card from the EU market and at that time will open up new opportunities. We can also export our marine fisheries,” he added.
“This also means that this is only for the fisheries we catch. If we do aquaculture, if we raise marine fish or raise marine algae, there is no problem for export. For export, this is minimal. We produce the most in freshwater.”
Suthavaridh said that to solve the world food problem, Cambodia has the potential to produce and export surpluses. To support this, the government is encouraging investment in the aquaculture sector to ensure food security and generate additional income.
The red card for marine fisheries exports (fishing from the sea), especially for aquaculture, encourages farmers to continue to support food security, especially freshwater and saltwater aquaculture.
“That is why we still want to encourage investment in the aquaculture sector to ensure food security. It will also generate additional income for economic development,” he added.
In 2023, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United National (FAO) in collaboration with the Fishers Administration (FiA) rolled out a programme in Koh Kong to combat unported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, enabling Cambodia to access international markets.
In 2024, freshwater fishery production reached nearly 470,000 tonnes, marking a 9.5 percent increase compared to 2023, demonstrating the effectiveness of management and enforcement efforts by FiA.
Aquaculture also recorded steady growth, with production reaching 325,000 tonnes in 2024, a two percent increase from the previous year. Additionally, Cambodia exported more than 3,800 tonnes of fresh and processed fishery products, reflecting progress in meeting domestic demand and expanding economic opportunities.
Above article are excerpt from:
https://kiripost.com/stories/cambodias-aquacultural-sectors-shifts-toward-commercial-scale
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