MAFF mulls distributing improved rubber varieties to farmers

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) is planning to increase the release and distribution of new high-yield rubber varieties, following over a decade of research by the Cambodian Rubber Research Institute.

This comes as Touch Bun Hour, Secretary of State at the Ministry, chaired a high-level meeting on Monday with the Seed Department within the ministry to review the institute’s detailed evaluation. The ministry confirmed the new varieties met all criteria for national use, highlighting their potential to significantly boost Cambodia’s rubber sector.

The varieties indigenously developed by the institute include G3, PB260, PB217, RRIM 600 and GT 1.

“These rubber clones were developed specifically for Cambodia’s climate, offering improved resilience, higher yields, and better adaptability to environmental conditions,” said Bun Hour. “The research began in 2011, and today, we are seeing the results that will benefit farmers and the entire industry.”

According to the ministry, the trials involving the new variants have shown yield increases of up to 50 percent, offering rubber farmers greater profitability. “The varieties are well-suited to Cambodia’s changing climate and diverse growing conditions and designed for long-term sustainability and compatibility with Cambodian soils.”

The ministry emphasised that the new varieties are expected to be expanded for wider cultivation in the coming years, with training and guidance to be provided to both commercial plantations and smallholder farmers.

It has encouraged farmers and rubber stakeholders to stay updated through local agricultural offices and training programmes as the rollout of the new clones begins.

Cambodia earned more than $387 million from rubber and rubberwood exports in the first seven months of 2025, marking a more than 42 percent increase compared to the same period last year, according to a report by the General Department of Rubber.

The report stated that in the first seven months of 2025, Cambodia produced 179,198 tonnes of rubber, an increase of 2,316 tonnes, or 1.31 percent, compared to the same period in 2024.

It added that in July alone, production reached 36,855 tonnes, up 4,057 tonnes, or 12.37 percent, from the previous month, and up 3,040 tonnes, or 8.99 percent, compared to July 2024.

Khun Kakada, Deputy Director General of the General Department of Rubber of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), said in the report that Cambodia exported 147,071 tonnes of rubber during the same period, a decrease of 26,844 tonnes, or 15.4 percent, compared to the same period in 2024.

He added that the average selling price of rubber in July 2025 was $1,672 per tonnes, up $49, or 3.04 percent, up $1, or 0.07 percent, compared to July 2024 ($1,671 per tonnes).

Cambodia has a total of 425,443 hectares of rubber plantations, with 52 percent classified as agro-industrial rubber plantations and the remaining 48 percent, or 202,321 hectares, consisting of family-operated rubber land. Of this, 330,359 hectares – equivalent to 78 percent of the total plantation area – are currently harvestable.

Three tyre factories in the country – Cart Tire Co Ltd, located in Bavet City, Svay Rieng Province, General Tires Technology (Cambodia) Co Ltd, in Preah Sihanouk Province and NEWBUSTAR (Cambodia), located in Snuol District, Kratie Province – are capable of processing around 200,000 tonnes of Cambodian rubber latex annually.

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