Cambodia and Myanmar have raised their objections against the European Commission (EC)’s decision to impose tariffs on their rice. (Photo: AFP/VNA)Phnom Penh (VNA) – Cambodia and Myanmar have raised their objectionsagainst the European Commission (EC)’s decision to impose tariffs on riceimports from the two Southeast Asian countries.
In an announcement, the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce stressed that theinspection by the EC which found imports of indica rice from both nations haveincreased by 89 percent in the past five rice-growing seasons was made based oninaccurate information.
The decision will hurt farmers in one of the most impoverished countries in theSoutheast Asia, it said.
Meanwhile, the Myanmar Rice Federation called on the European Union (EU) tocontinue supports for the country which is facing a wide range of challenges.
According to the EC’s decision, fromJanuary 18, the EU will reinstate the normal customs duty on this product of175 EUR (199 USD) per tonne in the first year, reducing it to 150 EUR (171 USD)per tonne in the second year, and 125 EUR (142 USD) per tonne in the thirdyear.
Cambodia and Myanmar are beneficiaries of theEU’s Everything but Arms (EBA) trade scheme, which unilaterally grants duty-andquota-free access to the world's least developed countries, according to thestatement.
Statistics show that Cambodia exported a totalamount of 626,225 tonnes of milled rice in 2018, with 42.9 percent of it goingout to European markets. Meanwhile, Myanmar exported around 100 million USDworth of the grain to the EU each year.-VNA
VNA
