AKP Phnom Penh, March 17, 2026 --

H.E. Mrs. Cham Nimul, Minister of Commerce, received here on Mar. 17 a courtesy call from Mr. Gaurav Patil, Senior Vice President and Country Head of Olam Food Ingredients (OFI) in Vietnam, along with his delegation, to discuss ways to promote and explore opportunities for cooperation in developing Cambodia’s cashew value chain.

During the meeting, Mr. Gaurav Patil informed that Olam Food Ingredients (OFI) Vietnam is a subsidiary of Olam Group, a large multinational company headquartered in Singapore and operating in more than 60 countries. 
The Group is a leading player in the food and agri-business sector, supplying customers worldwide.

In addition, Olam Group established Olam Outspan (Cambodia) in 2017, with the aim of promoting and expanding its investment in the processing of Cambodian cashew nuts and other potential agricultural products, including mango, durian, pineapple, and more.

He further added that, recognising Cambodia’s strong potential, along with its stable economic and political environment, OFI intends to expand its investment in the Kingdom of Cambodia, particularly in cashew processing. 

Mr. Gaurav Patil also proposed strengthening cooperation with the Ministry of Commerce to explore the possibility of establishing favourable mechanisms to further promote the processing of Cambodia’s potential products in a more diversified manner in the future.

For her part, H.E. Mrs. Cham Nimul expressed her warm welcome to Mr. Gaurav Patil and his delegation, and conveyed appreciation for the company’s confidence in investing in and expanding its business operations in Cambodia. 

Both sides also agreed to continue close cooperation in promoting, encouraging, and developing Cambodia’s cashew processing sector and other potential products for further growth.

Cashew is among the country’s potential cash crops in addition to rice, rubber, cassava, palm oil, bananas, mangoes, longans, and pepper.

According to the Cashew Nut Association of Cambodia (CAC), the Kingdom has currently planted cashew trees on a total area of around 700,000 hectares in some 10 provinces.

Cambodia earned US$1.5 billion from the exports of raw cashew nuts in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 30 percent, according to a CAC report.

By Chea Vannak