Cambodia Lifts Import Ban to Curb Soaring Prices

CAMBODIA - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has confirmed that the government will now allow imports of pigs and pork products from neighbouring countries in a bid to stave off escalating food prices.
calendar icon 28 March 2008
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The pig disease threat from its near neighbours countries were now over, and the need to stabilise prices if a priority, said a report from the Cambodian veterinarian department.

The government has now sanctioned a lifting of the ban on pig and pigmeat imports because of the shortage of pork products on local markets and also a rise in beef and fish prices

Hun Sen also appealed to fish lot owners to release their fish products to markets to drop the fish price.

Cambodian Finance Minister Keat Chhon, in a statement released on Thursday, appealed to people to remain calm and not to stock up on foods, which could make the situation even harder.

According to the statement, the Prime Minister has asked the finance and commerce ministries to address "the abnormal increase of price of goods," saying rising costs are "affecting the daily livelihoods of our citizens, especially workers, farmers and civil servants."

This week, the Cambodian government has released surplus rice into the markets, allowing people to buy five kilograms each at reduced prices. While rising food prices are part of a global trend, they have hit especially hard in Cambodia, where more than a third of the country's 14 million people are mired in poverty.

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