PHNOM PENH, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia exported 294,150 tonnes of milled rice in the first 10 months of the year, a 101 percent rise from 146,200 tonnes over the same period last year, a government data showed Tuesday.
The country's milled rice has been sold to 57 countries and regions around the world, the data said, adding that major Cambodian rice buyers are Poland, France, Malaysia, Thailand, the Netherlands and China.
Kim Savuth, president of the Federation of Cambodian Rice Exporters, said the remarkable increase was thanks to the country' s efforts in boosting rice industry in combination with rising rice demand on the international market.
"We expect that the country will be able to export between 360, 000 tonnes and 400,000 tonnes this year," he told Xinhua.
With more than 80 percent of the population being farmers, the Southeast Asian nation produced 9.31 million tonnes of paddy rice last year. Of this amount, besides local consumptions, it had about 3 million tonnes of milled rice left over for exports this year.
The impoverished country aims to export 1 million tonnes of milled rice a year from 2015.
Last year, Cambodia exported 187,115 tonnes of milled rice, earning 132 million U.S. dollars, according to the Ministry of Commerce.