The animal feed sector in Cambodia may soon see a big boost as large pharmaceutical manufacturer Bayer looking to enter the untapped market.
Bayer is currently studying local demand in the country for animal healthcare.
Bayer’s Southeast Asia group head, Khalid Baig told, "We intend to introduce animal health business in Cambodia for our farm products and feed mills."
Bayer Animal Health produces nutritional premixes and animal health products for the local animal husbandry industry.
Baig said "the Cambodian market [has] good potential in this area," saying that Bayer will need to invest in human resources, market research and a distribution network.
Country Operations Officer for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Meng Sakphouseth said how there was a huge potential in the animal production sector in Cambodia.
"Nobody has tried to develop that yet. Also, Cambodia is a corridor, a place where there is a lot of demand from Thailand and Vietnam, especially for cattle," he said.
According to animal welfare and production expert Ros Limhy, several thousand veterinarians are working in the Kingdom, mostly at the village or commune level. However, the key players in improving animal health in Cambodia would be the Village Animal Health Workers, who have been trained by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the public sector.
Limhy explained that with feed being the most important factor in improving animal performance and growth, that Commercial feeds were becoming more popular with farmers. He added that feed additives and other added chemicals were currently being imported from Thailand and Vietnam, but also from Europe.
CP Cambodia is the largest supplier of complete feed in Cambodia, supplying 42,000 tonnes/month of feed for all livestock species, including the recently completed plant in Kandal province which has a capacity of 5,000 tonnes/month.
Marketing Manager of CP Cambodia, Vannara Roeung said that his company will import pharmaceuticals from Thailand and train its Cambodian staff with Thai vets. He said "We have 33 employees that take care of the customers and explain to them how to vaccinate and what medicines to use."
