MAFF holds second annual rubber tapping contest in Tboung Khmum province
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) on Tuesday launched the 2025 annual rubber tapping contest in Memot district, Tboung Khmum province, under the presidency of Prak David, Secretary of State at MAFF.
The contest brought together 83 rubber tappers from 43 companies across 10 provinces, including Kampong Cham, Tboung Khmum, Preah Vihear, Stung Treng, Ratanakiri, Mondulkiri, Siem Reap, Oddar Meanchey, Pursat, and Pailin.
David stated that the 2025 rubber tapping contest was organised to raise public awareness about rubber tapping and to attract more workers—mainly migrant workers—to join the sector in both agro-industrial and family rubber plantations. The event also aims to strengthen solidarity within the rubber community.
“This is the second time that the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has cooperated with rubber companies to organise a rubber tapper contest to identify the best among the best and provide incentives for 2025,” he said.
He added that the participants were skilled, experienced workers whose performance could inspire others from other sectors to enter the rubber tapping profession. The job, he noted, offers many benefits, including stable monthly and annual income, while playing a crucial role as the backbone of the entire rubber value chain.
“Rubber tapping is essential because before rubber can be processed into tyres and other products, it must first be harvested by rubber tappers. Skilled tappers can achieve high yields while maintaining the health of the rubber trees,” David said, adding that, however, poor tapping techniques can harm the trees, reduce their productivity, or even cause them to stop producing latex altogether, leading to significant losses.
It may be recalled that the first contest was held on December 16, 2024, at the Choup rubber plantation in Tboung Khmum district, Tboung Khmum province. The candidates who participated in the competition came from 34 companies and five family rubber communities across seven provinces: Kampong Cham, Kampong Thom, Tbong Khmum, Kratie, Mondulkiri, Ratanakiri, and Stung Treng, totalling more than 70 participants.
According to the report of the General Department of Rubber of the Ministry of Agriculture, Cambodia earned over $636 million from rubber and rubberwood exports in the first 10 months of 2025, marking a more than 33 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
The report stated that in the first 10 months of 2025, Cambodia produced 307,332 tonnes of rubber, up 11,597 tonnes, or 3.92 percent, compared to the same period in 2024.
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