Minister of Information Neth Pheaktra has called for greater investment in cashew processing facilities in Kratie province, Cambodia’s second-largest cashew-growing area, to increase the value of agricultural products and expand exports of semi-finished and finished cashew products. During a visit to cashew plantations in Kratie province on Saturday, Minister Pheaktra said the government is encouraging the development of domestic processing capacity instead of relying heavily on exports of raw cashew nuts to neighbouring countries. Minister Pheaktra, who is also chairman of the Royal Government Working Group for Kratie province, said Cambodian cashew nuts are recognised for their quality and flavour. “Our cashew nuts have good quality in terms of taste,” he said. “We must maintain the reputation of the good quality of our cashew nuts.” The minister also urged farmers not to abandon cashew cultivation because of rumours promoting alternative crops. “I encouraged our farmers not to believe rumours and cut down cashew trees in favour of other fruits,” he said. He added that the government is continuing efforts to stabilise fuel prices to support farmers and transport activities. Minister Pheaktra said the visit aimed to help him better understand the livelihoods and concerns of local farmers. According to Leang Punloeu, chief of the Agro-Industry Office at the Provincial Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Kratie province currently has around 110,000 hectares of cashew plantations, making it the country’s second-largest cashew-producing province after Kampong Thom. “We have a total of 110,000 hectares, of which around 100,000 hectares are productive cashew plantations,” he said. “It means we can collect around 200,000 tonnes of cashew nuts per year.” Punloeu said most wet and dried cashew nuts produced in the province are exported to Vietnam for processing. “If we have processing facilities, we can process the products ourselves and export finished products abroad,” he said. Farmer Chuon Sinat, 65, said he cultivates six hectares of cashew plantations and harvests around one tonne per hectare. He said rising fertiliser prices remain a major challenge for farmers. Meanwhile, cashew trader Men Sles, who has been in the business for 17 years, said he purchases cashew nuts from farmers at between 5,000 and 5,500 riel per kilogramme. “During the peak harvest season, I spend around 30 million riel per day buying both wet and dried cashew nuts,” he said. Cambodia is the world’s second-largest producer of raw cashew nuts but currently processes only between 5% and 10% of its harvest domestically, with most exports sent to Vietnam. According to the Cashew Nut Association of Cambodia (CAC), the Kingdom is accelerating efforts to expand its cashew processing industry in 2026, aiming to process 25% of its annual raw cashew harvest of between 800,000 tonnes and one million tonnes, up from 2.4% in 2025.