Confirel Pursues Its Dream of Making Cambodia a New Cocoa Powerhouse in Asia

On September 30, 2025, Confirel marked a new milestone in its ambitious cocoa project at a ceremony held in Srey Santhor, Kampong Cham province, in the presence of His Excellency Ouch Borith, Acting President of the Cambodian Senate. On this occasion, Mr. Nol Ratana, head of Confirel's cocoa project, representing Dr. Hay Ly Eang—the company's founder and leader of the initiative—presented the potential of cocoa cultivation in Cambodia, highlighting the economic benefits to be expected for local farmers.

This initiative, dubbed "Cacao Ratanakiri," aims to massively introduce cocoa cultivation in the northeastern provinces of the kingdom: Ratanakiri, Mondulkiri, Kratié, and Stung Treng, regions renowned for their climate and soil conducive to this production. Since 2015, Confirel has planted four adapted cocoa varieties and expects to plant one million trees by 2029.

The project is progressing rapidly: 7,000 trees were already producing pods in 2025, with two harvests expected per year. Confirel aims to plant an additional 100,000 trees in 2025 and 250,000 in 2026 to reach this million-tree target. In addition to providing technical support to farmers, the company is committed to ensuring they have an outlet by purchasing the harvest at market price.

According to Dr. Hay Ly Eang, interviewed by Baksey Media, the stakes are high: beyond profitability for rural residents, it also represents a boost for Cambodian agriculture and the country's positioning in the global chocolate market, where demand—particularly from China—continues to grow. At ten dollars per kilo, cocoa is becoming an attractive diversification crop, even on a small farm scale. Its production also offers ecological benefits: every million trees planted would absorb 250,000 tons of CO₂, an asset for promoting the sector internationally.

Dr. Hay Ly Eang is not unaware of the challenges: "Launching a new crop means taking risks, constantly correcting course, and learning from each failure," he says, aware that making Cambodia a major cocoa producing country will require commitment and perseverance from all stakeholders.

With this project, Cambodia aspires not only to become a regional cocoa player but also to create an integrated sector, from bean to bar, to export value-added chocolate to Asia and beyond.