The team includes researchers from the New South Wales and Northern Territory Department of Primary Industries, and they've spent the last 18 months visiting Cambodia to work with the local mango industry.
The project, funded by the Australian Centre for International Agriculture Research (ACIAR), is helping to improve the yields and viability of the Cambodian mango industry, but also giving Australian researchers experience with potential threats.
"We've been shocked at the level of damage that some of these pests [in Cambodia] can create," said Mark Hickey, from the NSW Department of Primary Industry.
"Last March, we travelled from one end of Cambodia to the other, and most of the orchards were blackened with the after-effects of a leafhopper which attacks the [mango] flowers.
"Another spectacular pest for entomologists, but not one farmers want to see, is a borer called longicorn, which moves in and attacks weakened trees. And they're huge - the larvae can be longer and thicker than your middle finger."
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AUDIO: Researcher Mark Hickey explains the benefits of working with the Cambodian mango industry (ABC Rural)
Mr Hickey says the aim of the ACIAR project is to also help small and medium-sized landholders in Cambodia improve the health of their plantations, increase yields and hence increase their income.
Deputy director of the Cambodian department of plant protection and phytosanitary, Chhun Hy Heng, says Cambodia has about 30,000 hectares of mangoes and the government is keen to see the industry improve and expand.
He says in future years it's hoped Cambodia will be able to export its mangoes into Asian countries such as China and Korea.
"Through the ACIAR project we want to learn, build our capacity... and improve for the future, for our people and for the growers," he told ABC Rural.
"It's a policy of the government that in the future, as an ASEAN member, we have a plan to export [mangoes] overseas, but we need to improve our capacity, improve our quality and then, hopefully, Cambodia can start exporting to the international market."
Australian researcher Mark Hickey says the sharing of knowledge is helping both the Australian and Cambodian mango industries.
"There are simple gains we can make by working with these farmers to increase their livelihood," he said.
"And I think the net benefit for Australia is getting an understanding of things like double-cropping which they're doing here in Cambodia.
"We're looking at pest and diseases, so for our physiologists and our entomologists, it's like
Cambodian mangoes could soon roll to Seoul
Wed, 9 December 2015
Sor Chandara
The Ministry of Agriculture signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korea yesterday to export Cambodian mangoes and expand its short list of export destinations, a ministry official said.
The deal will help Cambodian farmers supply a new export market, but requires them to fulfil South Korea’s quality expectations, according to ministry spokesman Eang Sophallet.
“South Korea imports a lot of mangoes and they like Cambodian mangoes, especially the keo romeat variety,” Sophallet said.
He said the lower price of Cambodian mangoes compared to neighbouring nations has created high potential for export.
Mong Reththy, whose eponymous agro-industrial conglomerate is one of the country’s leading mango exporters, said the agreement was a win-win situation for both countries and that his company was ready to export as many mangoes as the South Koreans needed.
“If South Korea allows us to export mangoes to their country, the benefit is for all,” he said.
“So far, they haven’t allowed us to export because of their concerns around food safety.”
Reththy said his firm exported around 500 to 600 tonnes of mangos overseas so far this year and was hopeful that the new agreement would increase the volume of exports.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Cambodia had 65,251 hectares of mango plantations in 2014. Local producers currently export to China, France, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
