Sweet and juicy mangoes grown in Cambodia have been looking for a more direct path to top Asian markets including China, South Korea, and Japan, as until now mangoes have been exported through Thai and Vietnamese brokers, often being repackaged and processed into juices and jams to disguise their Khmer origin. Hyundai CNF Inc, a local subsidiary of Hyundai Corporation, is investing $4mn into developing a processing and distribution center in Cambodia for mangoes and other fruits. Last November, the company inked a deal with local mango producer Mao Legacy Co Ltd to establish a commercial facility that will wash, process, and package mangoes grown on Hyundai’s 400-hectar plantation, as well as Mao Legacy’s 2,000 hectares of mango farms. Lee Changhoon, representative of Hyundai Corporation (Cambodia), said the company would focus first on Korean and Japanese markets, and the first shipments are expected by the end of the year. According to Lee, the investment will give local mango farmers an alternative to selling their crop to Thai and Vietnamese brokers, ensuring higher earnings for farmers, and protecting them from temporary border closures or import bans by Thai or Vietnamese authorities. (Source: Phnom Penh Post)