Cambodia's exports of crude palm oil reached 19,916 tonnes in the first five months of 2021, an increase of 36% compared to the same period last year, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries. Favorable weather has been cited as the key factor for the increase in domestic production of palm oil, while the world's largest producers and exporters continue to report declines in productions due to weather-related issues and labor shortages. India and Malaysia were the largest importers of Cambodian crude palm oil during the period, said minister Veng Sakhon. While Malaysia ranks as the second largest producers and exporter of cruid palm oil after Indonesia, the country has seen reduced production due to rising labor costs, he explained. Mong Reththy, chairman of Mong Reththy Group Co Ltd, an agro-industrial conglomerate and by the Kingdom's largest exporter of crude palm oil, said that his company's exports were about 20,000 tonnes between Jan and May, up from a mere 566 tonnes for full-year 2020. He added that prices have also increased, averaging around $919 per tonne, up about 28% YoY. Mong Reththy Group is the largest oil palm grower in Cambodia and the fourth largest in Southeast Asia, owning 20,000 ha in plantation area in the country. (Source: Phnom Penh Post)