Prahôk powder : Unido shows its interest

The announcement by Confirel of its project to export a powdered prahôk, reported by the media on the occasion of the Thnot d’Or 2023, the theme of which was the promotion of prahôk to make it a successful product in the export, did not fail to attract the attention of UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization), while this UN organization is working with the fisheries department of Cambodia for the export of freshwater fish products to Europe .

Thus, at the beginning of July, Mr. Thorng Ra, national expert in food safety at Unido, and Dr. Hay Ly Eang, founder and CEO of Confirel, met to study the possibilities of cooperation.

Unido’s current work with the Fisheries Department of the Ministry of Agriculture aims to set up a food safety guarantee system as well as to structure the regulatory and functional framework for export control of freshwater products.

“Currently, Cambodia does not yet have authorization to export fish products of fresh water to the European market. We have to wait for the first inspection by European auditors who will come for a check in 2024,” said Thorng Ra.

Prior to the visit of these auditors, UNIDO provides support to 28 private companies, from 30,000 to 100,000 USD, for the upgrading of their production system according to food safety standards.

The export of prahôk in powder form fully contributes to the development of the kingdom’s fishing industry. To implement this project, Confirel has planned to obtain prahôk from a fishing community on the Tonlé Sap.

“We are going to develop a land where the prahôk producers of this community, during the annual fishing period, can work in good hygienic and food security conditions,” said Dr. Hay.

On a more general level, he insisted on the necessary involvement of all the players in the sector but also of the authorities for the conservation and sustainable management of the resource “because for lack of raw material in constant quantity, a success in the export of our powdered prahôk is doomed to failure. » After these exchanges, UNIDO expert visited the site that Confirel will devote, in its factory, to the production of powdered prahôk. Technical experts from Unido will come to assess the investments needed to bring it into line with European food safety standards.