Chinese firm begins building cassava plant in SE Cambodia

PHNOM PENH - Green Leader (Cambodia) Co Ltd, a subsidiary of China's Hong Kong-based Green Leader Holdings Group, on Sunday began the construction of its first cassava processing plant in Cambodia's southeastern Kratie province.

Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Yim Chhay Ly, chairman of the Council for Agricultural and Rural Development, along with Veng Sakhon, minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, and Zhang Sanhuo, chairman of Green Leader Holdings Group, attended the ground-breaking ceremony, according to a statement released by the Agriculture Ministry.

The $20-million plant will be built on the parcel of 20 hectares in a Special Economic Zone in Snuol district, the ministry said, adding that when completed, the plant will be capable of processing 130,000 tons of cassava starch a year.

According to the statement, Cambodia has about 675,000 hectares of cassava plantations, which yielded some 14.8 million tons of cassava tubers in 2017.

Zhang said the Hong Kong-listed company planned 20 cassava processing plants in Cambodia within five years.

Cassava is used to produce animal feed and ethanol.