It's a drop in the ocean compared to the Philippines' US$1.4 billion banana export industry, but a company in Cambodia is having a crack at the Chinese fruit market.

The Phnom Penh Post reported Vietnamese group Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) became the first company to officially export Cambodian bananas last month, and has secured more orders with plans to ship another 100 metric tons (MT) of fruit from the Ratanakkiri province.

HAGL director of administration Thach Quanh Tha told the publication the fruit would be sent by land to Vietnamese port facilities before loading onto a container ship for China. 

“We plan to ship 100 tonnes of bananas stored in five containers to China with final destinations potentially reaching Japan and European Union markets," he told the publication, adding similar sized shipments could take place on a weekly basis.

The story reported HAGL owned 1,000 hectares of banana plantations in northeastern Cambodia through three of its subsidiaries, Hoang Anh Andong Meas, Hoang Anh Romphat and Hoang Anh Daun Penh Agrico.

ITC statistics show Cambodia only exported US$1.5 million worth of fruit and nut exports in 2016, with South Korea receiving about a third of the total and the remainder going mostly to India, China and France. In volume terms, this equates to around 1,104MT. 

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