Table of Contents
1.

Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1

2.

Objectives of Study ........................................................................................................................ 1

3.

Scope of Study ................................................................................................................................ 1

4.

Limitations ...................................................................................................................................... 1

5.

Literature Review ........................................................................................................................... 2
 Major exporting agricultural products in 2020 ........................................................................... 3 Overseas market importing regulatory requirements .................................................................. 4
 Type of the traceability systems ................................................................................................. 7
 External traceability system ........................................................................................................ 7
 Internal traceability system ......................................................................................................... 8
 Technical instruments for traceability ........................................................................................ 8

6.

Methodology................................................................................................................................... 8

7.

Results of the study......................................................................................................................... 98.

Recommendations and Conclusion .............................................................................................. 10

References ............................................................................................................................................ 11
Appendix 1: List of questions for traceability system for agricultural product exporter..................... 13

List of Abbreviations
AC

Agricultural Cooperatives

ASEAN

Association of South East Asia Nations

CEO

Chief Executive Officer

CO

Certificate of Origin

EU

The European Union Countries

FAO

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

FTA

Free Trade Agreement

GDA

General Directorate of Agriculture

GDP

Gross Domestic Productha

Hectare

HACCP

Hazard Analysis Critical Control PointIFOAM

The International Federation for Organic Agriculture Movements

INGO

International Non-Governmental Organization

ISO

International Standardization Organization

JAS

Japanese Agricultural Standard

JMAFF

Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries

GHP

Good Hygienic Practices

GMP

Good Manufacturing Practices

MAFF

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries

MT

Metric Tons

MoC

Ministry of Commerce

PDAFF

Provincial Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries

PGS

Participatory Guarantee System

QR CodeQuick Read Code

RFID

Radio Frequency Identification Devices

SAAMBAT

Sustainable Assets for Agriculture Market, Business and Trade

SC 2.2

Sub-Component 2.2 of SAAMBAT project

SMEs

Small and Medium Enterprises

SPS

Sanitary and Phytosanitary

USAID

United State Agency for International Development

USDA NOP

United State Department of Agriculture National Organic Program

WSN

Wireless Sensor Network

List of Tables
Table 1: Agriculture sub-sectors production area and worth in value for exporting quantity (Compiled
and consolidated by Author) .................................................................................................................. 2
Table 2: Commodity production areas, productivity, exporting volume, and worth in value in 2020
(Author’s compilation based on information retrieving from an official Facebook page of Minister ofMAFF) ................................................................................................................................................... 4
Table 3: List of interviewed agricultural product exporters and relevant institutions. ......................... 8

1. Introduction
Information and Communication Technology is increasingly applied to agriculture value chain to
overcome fragmented and miscommunication barriers. By adopting this technology, Sub-Component
2.2 of SAAMBAT project or SC 2.2 is mandatory to develop 5 digital key applications, one of whichis the dynamic traceability system application for agricultural products. Additionally, the developmentof the traceability system is to assist private sector who wishes to export agricultural products tooverseas markets that are required to comply with importing policy by developed countries such as theUS, the EU, Japan, China, Australia, and New Zealand on food safety which include HACCP, GMP,
GHP, and Sanitary and Phytosanitary certificate. To ensure food safety it is necessary to have thetraceability system in-place to track and trace agricultural products at any value chain stages, improve
product quality control, reduce incident of food poisoning risk, authenticate ethical credential, countryof origin, produce provenance, and ultimately build consumer trust and satisfaction. Traceability
system allows an early detection of food-borne disease in the value chain to avoid illness proliferation.
The study of traceability system for agricultural product export will complement the need assessment
for the traceability system for vegetable value chain. Likewise, it will assess whether the sustainabilityof the digital traceability system application will be continuously utilized when the project is phased
out. It is hoped that the result from the study will provide a concrete evidence of demand side fromrelevant institutions ranging from agricultural products supporting for export institution to exporters
and to elaborate whether the dynamic traceability system should be developed.

2. Objectives of Study
This study seeks (1) to understand the need of the traceability system for agricultural producer groups,
cooperatives, associations, and exporters, (2) to identify the preferred standardization and certifying
body in the country, and (3) to confirm the utilization as well as a willingness to co-finance the system
when it is developed by SC 2.2.

3. Scope of Study
This is a complementary study to the traceability system for vegetables to confirm that SC 2.2 should
develop a dynamic system which is applicable for any type of agricultural products. This study
specifically focuses on the demand side of the traceability system for agricultural export crops such as
pepper, cashew nut, mango, and Pailin longan. In addition, various actors who provide technicalassistance and facilitation to small & medium size enterprises of International Non-Governmental
Organisations (SMEs-INGOs), agricultural cooperatives, chemical-free and organic wholesaler &retail shops, and exporter companies were also picked for an interview.

4. Limitations
Due to limited resources, time constraint, lacking data of agricultural product exporters, and abureaucracy requirement of an official letter of request of some exporters who would cooperate andPage |1

allow for an interview, only selected number of each of the following potential agricultural productexporters (cashew nut, longan, mango, and pepper), INGO, chemical-free/organic wholesalers & retailshops, agricultural cooperatives, and certifying body were chosen. Banana export companies were
excluded due to their contacts could not be reached. In addition, milled rice exporters were also ruledout in this study because the team used to meet with AMRU RICE CEO, Oknha Song Sarann who iscurrently a Cambodia Rice Federation President, keeps insisting that the traceability system shouldhave already been established as it plays a significant role in facilitating agricultural products export
to overseas markets.

5. Literature Review
There are 3 main sectors that drive Cambodia economy. They are industry, service, and agriculture.
Agriculture sector contributes 20.17% to the total GDP in 2019 (World Bank, 2020). Agriculture sector
divides into 5 sub-sectors such as rubber, animal production (including poultry and egg), forestry(wildlife raising and swift bird nest), fisheries (freshwater fish, marine fish, and aquaculture), and crop
production (selected major exporting crops including milled rice, paddy rice, cassava, mango, cashew
nut, longan, pepper, and cavendish banana).
Table 1: Agriculture sub-sectors production area and worth in value for exporting quantity (Compiled
and consolidated by Author)

Type of productions

Total production
quantity (MT)The total value of thetotal production (million
USD)

Exporting worth ofvalue (million USD)

Livestock and poultry(including egg)

258,257$ 1,827.20$ 61.31

Fisheries

936,300$ 1,872.60$ 8.33

Forestry product30,926$ 86.96$ 44.09

Rubber350,000$ 482.76$ 459.00

7 major exportingcrops

24,415,172$ 2,323.19$ 2,170.00

Source: Veng, Sakhon. (2021, January 04). Total value of agricultural products and agricultural export
sub-sectors of animal production, fishery products, forestry products, rubber products, and crop

Page |2

production achieved in 2020. Sakhon Veng, Minister of the Mistry of Agriculture, Forestry, andFisheries. https://www.facebook.com/vengsakhon
Among the 5 agricultural sub-sectors, the major exporting crops stand at the top of the table in all 3
units including the total production quantity, total value of the total production, and exporting worthof value which accounts for 24,415,172 MT; $ 2.32 billion; and $ 2.17 billion respectively. In termsof the total production quantity, the second place is freshwater and marine fish ahead of rubber,
livestock, and forestry products with the total quantity of 936,300 MT; 350,000 MT; 258,257 MT; and30,926 MT respectively. Likewise, when it comes to worth of the total production freshwater andmarine fish remains sitting at second spot follows by livestock, rubber, and forestry products at $1,873.6 million; $ 1,827.19 million; $ 482.76 million; and $ 86.96 million respectively. However, theresult has changed when it comes to exporting worth in value. The first runner up is rubber chases after
by the second runner up which is livestock, the fourth place which is forestry products, and the lastspot in table 1 above which is freshwater and marine fish with a value of $ 459 million, $ 61.30 million,$ 44.09 million, and $ 8.33 million respectively (table 1).
Prior to these agricultural products being allowed to export to overseas markets as well as to comply
with intended importing countries, it is necessary to get a sanitary and phytosanitary certificate and acertificate of origin from the department of plant protection, sanitary, and phytosanitary of the General
Directorate of Agriculture (GDA) of MAFF and General Department of Trade Service of Ministry ofCommerce (MoC). This measure is to assure that there would be no transmission of quarantine pests
and/or economically devastating pests from one country to another in order to protect one’s country
agricultural production and biodiversity without setting up unnecessary barrier to trade and transport(FAO, 2020). The certificate of origin is to certify that the products are locally produced or obtainedusing local raw materials (MoC, 2021).
This section collects and collates secondary data on major exporting agricultural products to overseas
markets and the rules and regulations to be complied with intended importing countries.

 Major exporting agricultural products in 2020
5 major agricultural commodities that have been produced and exported to overseas markets wereconsolidated and compiled as illustrated in Table 2 (Veng, S. 2021).

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Table 2: Commodity production areas, productivity, exporting volume, and worth in value in 2020
(Author’s compilation based on information retrieving from an official Facebook page of Minister of
MAFF)

Average
Production Harvesting Productivity
Commodity
yield
areas (ha) areas (ha)(MT)
(MT/ha)Exporting
Quantity
in 2020(MT)

The total
value of the
total
productivity(in million
USD)

CavendishBanana15,945

14,270478,350

33.52

333,143$ 434.35

Cashew nut

258,984

162,294242,324

1.49

230,981$ 481.48

Mango

131,890

93,0991,748,624

18.78

947,628$ 571.86

Pepper

7,239

6,092

18,242

2.99

5,079

$ 42.50

Longan14,50011,599196,71216.96

102,280$ 155.82

Source: Veng, Sakhon. (2021, January 02). The total agricultural production yield and overseas export
quantity initial result in December 2020. Sakhon Veng, Minister of the Mistry of Agriculture, Forestry,
and Fisheries. https://www.facebook.com/vengsakhon
Out of the 5 agricultural commodities, cashew nut and mango contain the biggest production areas
follows by cavendish banana and longan with the cultivated areas of 258,984 ha; 131,890 ha; 15,945
ha; and 12,500 ha respectively. Mango provides the highest yield that accounts for 1,748,624 MT/hafollows by banana, cashew nut, longan, and pepper. However, banana offers the highest average yieldchases after by mango, longan, and pepper with amount of 33.52 MT/ha; 18.78 MT/ha; 16.96 MT/ha;and 2.99 MT/ha respectively. Cashew nut sees the lowest on average yield among the 5 commodities
at 1.49 MT/ha. Mango stands at the top in terms of exporting quantity comes after by banana, cashew
nut, longan, and pepper with the volume of 947,628 MT; 333,143 MT; 230,981 MT; 102,280 MT; and5,079 MT respectively. In terms of the selling price of the total yield, mango is the leading commodity
goes after by cashew nut, banana, longan, and pepper with a total worth of money of $ 571.86 million;$ 481.48 million; $ 434.35 million; $ 155.82 million; and $ 42.50 million respectively.

 Overseas market importing regulatory requirements
According to the Khmer Times online news (2020) reported that most of Cambodian agricultural
products were exported mainly to China, the EU, ASEAN, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, New
Zealand, and the US with the total quantity of more than 3 million MT (Chan, 2020). When exporting
agricultural products to these countries there are some criteria required to comply with including
Page |4

sanitary and phytosanitary certificate, and food safety and quality assurance certificate which
encompasses the traceability system. In addition, amid growing concerns of consumer over food safety
and health consciousness, importing countries have strictly imposed the law on importing agriculturaland food products to their countries (UNESCAP, n.d.).
The member states of the ASEAN have signed several Free Trade Agreements (FTA) either bilateralor regional with various countries such as Australia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Japan, South
Korea, and India. This agreement removes the import & export tariff barriers of all ASEAN nations tofreely trade with its signed counterpart countries (Association of Southeast Asian Nations, n.d.). Thismeans that Cambodian agricultural products export to endorsed counterpart nations are tariff barriers
free. However, there are 2 types of required documents including preferential tariff certificate oforigin (CO) to be issued by the Ministry of Commerce and sanitary and phytosanitary certificate(SPS) which is attested by the GDA of MAFF. The former letter is an official document that certifies
the products originated, wholly obtained, produced, or manufactured in a country whereas the latter
certificate is to assure the food safety and to prevent entry, establishment of or spread of harmful pests
and diseases (MoC, 2021; GDA, 2017).
Looking at regulatory policy of importing agricultural products to the developed countries such as the
EU and the US, trading agricultural products in those country markets must comply with food safety
legislation to assure the food products are safe for consumption and of high quality. Thus, eachcompany along the supply chain must adopt an internal traceability system and share the data withconcerning regulatory institutions. This is to ensure product quality and public safety are under control
which results in putting pressure on traceability requirements in the food supply chain to become more
and more strict (Mainetti et al., 2013).
This section will explain some of the selected internationally recognized certification and accreditation
bodies for exporting agricultural products to the globe. They are CODEX Alimentarius, International
Food and Organic Agriculture Movement (IFOAM–Organic International), and International
Organization for Standardization.
- CODEX Alimentarius is an international food standard which produces guidelines and codesof practices that contribute to the safety, quality, and fairness of the international food trade. It
protects consumer’s health and assures the safety and quality of food products which follow
the standardized ordered specification set by this institution. It is established and under theoversight of FAO and WHO (CODEX Alimentarius, 2021).
- IFOAM – Organics International work focuses on bringing true sustainability to agriculture
across the world. They promote adoption of organic agriculture and similar approach whether
certified or non-certified toward best practices by integrating organic principles and methods
for agricultural operations to become more sustainable (IFOAM, 2020). Standards andcertification that this institution offers including the organic guarantee system which demarcate
the line between what is organic and what is not, participatory guarantee system (PGS) is a“locally focused quality assurance system or organic guarantee systems that certify producer
based on active participation of stakeholders and are built on a foundation of trust, social
networks, and knowledge exchange.”, and internal control systems (ICS) for group certification
Page |5-

which facilitate organic smallholders to access to third-party certification and organic market(IFOAM – Organics International, n.d.)International Organization for Standardization develops internationally recognized standards.
It is an independent non-governmental organization which envisions a collective action
bringing experts of the member countries to share knowledge and develop voluntary,consensus-based, market-relevant international standards that support innovation and provide
solutions to global challenges. It allows the best practices of making products fit and work wellwith each other, identifying safety-related issues of products, and sharing ideas and solutions
to the member countries (ISO, n.d.).

These international organizations do not issue any certifying products to their member states, however,with the consent from the state members, they are mandatory to authorize an official inspection systemand official certification systems to the state member government or eligible independent body to be aregistered certifying body which complies with specific pre-defined requirement criteria (FAO, n.d.;
FAO, 1995; ISO, n.d.). For instance, ISO 9001 or ISO 14001, must be certified by an independent
body with written assurance, which is a provisional certificate, that the product, service, or systemcomplying with specific requirements (ISO, n.d.).
However, developed countries like the EU, Japan, and the USA have customized these regulations tobe aligned with their country standard requirements such as EU Organic Regulation – EC 834/2007,
Japanese Agricultural Standards-JAS, and the United State of Department of Agriculture National
Organic Program (USDA-NOP) respectively.
- JAS is established by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries-JMAFF
which is in charge of issuing Japanese National Standard in the field of agriculture, forestry,
fisheries, and food industry (JMAFF, n.d.). In 2003, the Japanese government enacted the foodsafety law with an objective to promote the measure concerning food safety. One of themeasures in the food sanitation law was the introduction of “Food Traceability Systems”. A
month later, JMAFF announced a new Japan Agricultural Standards (JAS) program ofimported beef (Clemens, R. 2003). To be able to use the JAS sticker on imported products as“Organic” importing companies are required to be certified by Accredited Japanese Certifying
Bodies or unless the overseas manufacturers are certified by organic JAS certification bodies.
To acquire the JAS organic logo, firms or manufacturers must apply for this certificate throughregistered certifying bodies. JMAFF accepts the applications of intended register certifying
bodies and conducts assessment based on the standards specified by JAS law. The registeredcertifying agents open for certification application from agricultural production firms andprocessed food manufacturers then award the certification after conducting assessments basedon technical criteria for certification. After issuing organic certifying products, the inspection
institution will annually check the firms whether they comply with JAS technical requirement
criteria (JMAFF, 2015).
- In the EU, EU directive 178/2002 came into effect in early 2005 which is mandatory for all
foods and feeds sold within the EU countries must apply traceability system (Fonlinas, et al.,2006). Having had the EU Organic Regulation sticker on locally produced or imported products
allows the free flow of these products with the EU member states. To obtain the EU Organic
Regulation – EC 834/2007, commercial firms, importing companies, and the farmers of the EU
member nations must apply for this certificate through registered certifying institutions. A
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-

process of applying for the EU Organic Regulation – EC 834/2007 of ECOCERT, which is oneof certifying bodies, is exemplified. First, firm or farmer is required to file an application thenit will be reviewed by ECOCERT. Next, the formal certification contract comes into effectafter the body has agreed to accept the application. Then, an initial evaluation of both recorded
paperwork and onsite inspection kicks off. Later, the final review by the certifying bodycommittee and certification decision is made whether the firm or farmer complies with andmeets the required criteria to be certified as organic or not. After granting the EU Organic
Certificate, the surveillance of the operation takes place which the final step of the application
process where it will annually check the firm or farmland at least once (ECOCERT, 2020).
USDA NOP is the federal regulatory entity that oversees the development and enforcement ofrules and regulations for all organic agricultural products trafficking in the US territory (USDA
AMS, n.d.). To acquire this certification, there are 5 steps to follow. Firstly, the firm is required
to develop its organic system plan and implements this developed organic system then request
for a certifying agent to inspect the system. Later, allow the agent to review the inspection
report. If the operation complies with the rules the certifying agent will issue organic certificate
listing products that can be sold as organic on the US territory and its accredited counterpart
countries (McEvoy, 2020).

Traceability is the ability to follow the movement of a food through specified stage of production,
processing, and distribution (CAC, 2005) or is the ability to capture, store, and transmit sufficient
information about products or substances at all stages in the food supply chain so that the products canbe checked for safety and quality through trace upward and track downward activity at any time (Bosna& Gebresenbet, 2013). When the traceability system is applied to an integrated food supply chain in acoordinated and rapidly responsive manner will achieve a reduction of foodborne diseases (Zhang, R.
& Bhatt, T. 2014).

 Type of the traceability systems
In the food supply chain when applying a traceability system, it is required all involved actors link thefree flow of products in exchange for an interoperability of recorded information across the whole
supply chain. All actors in the chain must have an agreement on product identification to ensure thatthe products are traceable within each stage. These implementing activities are to assure transparency
and continuity of information exchanges across the chain (UN Global Impact, 2014). An effective
traceability system requires a control process of external and internal traceability.

 External traceability system
All traceable products must have a unique product identification number and batch or lot number. The
recorded information within each chain/stage must be interoperable shared between distributed
channel participants. This is to ensure that each traceability partner should be able to identify the directsource and direct recipient of traceable products as they pertain to their process.
External traceability interacts with two of product tracings namely tracing back, enables actors in thefood supply chain to identify the immediate supplier, and tracking forward, facilitates actors to
distinguish an immediate subsequence recipient (Aung, M. M. & Chang, Y., 2014).

Page |7

 Internal traceability system
Processes must be maintained within an organization to link identities of raw materials to those of thefinished goods. When one material is combined with others, and processed, reconfigured, or repacked,
the new product must have its own Unique Product Identifier. The linkage must be maintained between
this new product and its original material inputs (such as batters, breading, seasonings, marinades, salt,
packaging materials, and many other inputs) to maintain traceability. A label showing the Lot Numberof the traceable input item should remain on the packaging until that entire traceable item is depleted.
This principle applies even when the traceable item is part of a larger packaging hierarchy (such ascases, pallets, or shipment containers) (Zhang & Bhatt, 2014 b).

 Technical instruments for traceability
Aung and Chang (2014) signified that there are 4 types of technical instruments for traceability thatare usually used on food products. They are:
1. Alphanumeric code is a combination code contains alphabetical letters, mathematic symbols,
numbers, and punctuation marks which is easily readable by computer program.
2. Barcode or QR code is a printed label that encodes a series of parallel bars or lines of varying
width, spaces, squares, and dots which is readable by optical machine.
3. RFID is the technology that applies radio frequency to read and capture data stored on a tag
attached to the objects.
4. Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is a system designed to remotely collect, monitor, control,
and transmit data of the surrounding environment through interconnected sensor nodes.

6. Methodology
To capture the intended respondents’ perceptions, purposive sampling is applied in this study. Theinterviewees are purposively and carefully selected based on their knowledge of the subject and theirseveral experiences as agricultural producer groups, agricultural cooperatives, chemical-freewholesaler or organic retail shops, agricultural product exporting firms, agricultural food
manufacturers, and INGO whose works supporting export of agricultural products. These institutions
are well-aware of exporting policy requirements.
The interview was conducted in 3 communication ways including a phone call, virtual interview, anda physical meeting interview.
Potential major agricultural product exporters, AC, an association, a private company, and certified
institutes were interviewed. A total of 16 interviewees were surveyed which is summarized in table 3:
Table 3: List of interviewed agricultural product exporters and relevant institutions.
No
1
2
3

Name of Institution
Angkor Harvest Company
Kirirom Mango Farm
Kingdom Fruits International Firm

Type of Institution
Mango exporter

Page |8

4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14

Kampot Pepper Association
Samlot Khmer Organic Pepper
Pailin Longan Production
Pailin Longan Product Agricultural Cooperative
Chey Sambo Enterprise
Cashew Nut Association of Kampong Thom
Yamato Green Co Ltd.
Khmer Organic Cooperative
Agri On Co Ltd.
International Volunteer of Yamagata
Cambodia Pepper Spices Federation

15

Cambodia Agricultural Cooperative Alliances

16

Cambodia Food Manufacturer Association
Total Number of Interviewees

Pepper Agricultural Cooperative
Longan Agricultural Cooperative
Cashew Nut Agricultural Cooperative
Chemical-free/organic wholesaler &retail shop
INGO
Supporting Agricultural Cooperative
Constitutional Agricultural
Cooperative
Food Manufacturing Association
16

The traceability system for agricultural export product questionnaire was developed as attached inAppendix 1. They are designed using a semi-structured interview with an open-ended questionnaire.
The questionnaire is used to guide the interview and the interviewer is flexible to ask further questions
if the guided questions are not applicable to the context. As this study is not intended to collectquantitative number but rather to get the opinion and perception of the subject matter, the finding will
be analyzed based on the content analysis which is a method application of the qualitative analysis.

7. Results of the study
The primary purpose of this study to elaborate on whether the traceability system should be developed.
Respondents’ experience and feedback added insights to the study. By listening, paper-recording, andanalyzing the experience shared by purposively chosen institutions, valuable information was obtainedon the demand of the traceability system.
According to the observation through content analysis, the study found that all respondents are wellaware of and understand the importance of the traceability system which is a value-added toagricultural products export to overseas markets especially the US and EU countries. These overseas
markets mandate all agricultural and food product importers must adhere to food safety policy which
requires a traceability system to tackle food-borne disease proliferation in their territories which in turnprotect consumers and public health.
It also reveals an answer to the second objective of identifying the preferred standardization andcertifying body in the country, the study shows that it is dependent on the type of agricultural crops
they cultivate and overseas markets that they export to e.g., pepper grower needs organic certificate by
ECOCERT to export it to the EU market. However, if the exporting firms wish to export to the US
they must acquire USDA organic standard. This strict standard of regulation applies to other crops asPage |9well. Mango, Pailin longan, and cashew nut exporters require Certificate of Origin and Sanitary andPhytosanitary certificate which they mainly export these products to the ASEAN and FTA countries.
Finally, the study discovered the third objective of confirming the utilization as well as a willingness
to co-finance the system when it is developed by SC 2.2 that all respondents are thrilled to apply
traceability system to their agricultural production chain and most agricultural product exporters arewilling to co-finance if this is a regulation requirement from overseas markets. However, agricultural
cooperatives are hesitant and necessitate to have in-depth discussions with their committee members
first prior to making any further decision on the co-investment. All interviewed AC leaders alsomentioned that if the members saw the potential benefits of the system such as contract ordering fromoverseas markets, premium price offered, and sustainable purchasing contract was made between
producer groups and buyers then the member would surely co-invest in the traceability system. A
tenacious commitment from Cambodia Food Manufacturer Association and Cambodia Agricultural
Cooperative Alliances in disseminating and encouraging the application of the system to its 35 food
manufacturing members and over 1,200 AC members respectively.
Kirirom Mango Farm Sale Manager shared their experience of the manual traceability system as they
have to record all of the relevant data on paperwork and excel sheet. This manual causes difficultywhen they want to find out the source of mango farms which take them at least 4 weeks to trace backall of those stacked up information. Having a traceability system in place would help to ease thepressure in search for relevant data that they have stored.
The Kingdom Fruit International company who exports several agricultural products to overseas
markets welcomed the idea of developing a digital traceability system, they will utilize the system fortheir internal food safety control measures and in case if their importing countries require thetraceability system to prove their products are safe then they will instantly present the system to theirpartnering markets. Additionally, they are also willing to co-invest if project could optimize the systemthat meets their requirements and if they would have decent control over the direction of the system.
Agri On Co Ltd which is a wholesaler of fruit and vegetable products is undertaken developing its own
traceability system with assistance from their partnering company in Singapore. SC 2.2 hopes toconvince and integrate the traceability system developed by Agri On Co Ltd onto Khmer Agriculture
Suite Core Platform.

8. Recommendations and Conclusion
The results show that there is a strong demand from the digital traceability system application from allinterviewed organizations as well as their willingness to co-invest in the system.
Due to concrete evidence on robust demand from interviewed entities, it is recommended that
customizable traceability system application should be developed that could be used with all kinds ofagricultural crops.

P a g e | 10

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from https://www.ifoam.bio/about-us
15. IFOAM – Organic International (n.d.). Standards and certification. Retrieved fromhttps://www.ifoam.bio/our-work/how/standards-certification
16. Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (n.d.). Japanese AgriculturalStandards (JAS). Retrieved from https://www.maff.go.jp/e/policies/standard/jas/
17. ISO (n.d.). About the International Organization for Standardization. Retrieved fromhttps://www.iso.org/about-us.html
18. ISO (n.d.). International Organization for Standardization: Certification and Conformity.
Retrieved from https://www.iso.org/certification.html
19. MAFF (2015). Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, Food Safety andConsumer Affairs Bureau. The inspection certification system for organic products.
Retrieved from https://www.maff.go.jp/e/jas/specific/pdf/organic_products_system_1501.pdf

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20. Mainetti, L., Patrono, L., Laura, M., & Vergallo, R., (2013). An innovative and low-cost
gapless traceability system of fresh vegetable products using RF technologies and EPCglobal
standard
21. MoC (2021). Ministry of Commerce. Trade Services: Certificate of origin. Retrieved fromhttp://www.moc.gov.kh/en-us/certificate-of-origin
22. UNESCAP (n.d.). Facilitating compliance to food safety and quality for cross-border trade.
Retrieved fromhttps://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/Facilitating%20Compliance%20to%20Food%20s
afety%20and%20quality%20for%20cross-border%20trade%20guide.pdf
23. UN Global Impact (2014). A guide to traceability. A practical approach to advancesustainability in global supply chains. Retrieved fromhttps://d306pr3pise04h.cloudfront.net/docs/issues_doc%2Fsupply_chain%2FTraceability%2
FGuide_to_Traceability.pdf
24. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (n.d.). USDA Agricultural Marketing Service:
National Organic Program. Retrieved from https://www.ams.usda.gov/rulesregulations/organic
25. McEvoy, M. (2020). US Department of Agriculture. Organic 1010: Five steps to organic
certification. Retrieved from https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2012/10/10/organic-101-fivesteps-organic-certification
26. The World Bank (2020). Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (% of GDP)Cambodia. Retrieved fromhttps://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS?locations=KH
27. Veng, S. (2021). The total agricultural production yield and overseas export quantity initial
result in December 2020. Sakhon Veng, Minister of the Mistry of Agriculture, Forestry, andFisheries. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/vengsakhon
28. Veng, S. (2021). Total value of agricultural products and agricultural export sub-sectors ofanimal production, fishery products, forestry products, rubber products, and crop production
achieved in 2020. Sakhon Veng, Minister of the Mistry of Agriculture, Forestry, andFisheries. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/vengsakhon
29. Zhang, J. & Bhatt, T. (2014). A guidance document on the best practices in food traceability.
Institute of Food Technologists. Vol. 13. 1074. https://doi.10.1111/1541-4337.12103

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Appendix 1: List of questions for traceability system for
agricultural product exporter
A. Company profile
1. Interview Date: _________________________, Location: ____________________________
2. Interviewee name: _________________________Phone number: _______________________
3. Which groups do you belong to?
 a. Ag Product Exporter b. Producer
 c. Other (_________)
4. Company name: ______________________________________________________________
5. Address: ____________________________________________________________________
6. Date of establishment: _________________________________________________________
7. Which crops do you produce or export?
 a. Mango  b. Banana  c. Cashew nut  d. Longan  d. Pepper  e. Other (___)
8. Type of company
 a. A Local firm
 b. International firm
9. What is your production volume per annum (metric tons)? ____________________________
10. What is your exporting capacity per annum (metric tons)? _____________________________
11. What is the export frequency?
 a. A year-round b. Seasonal
 c. Other (___________)
12. Which countries do you mainly export to? _________________________________________
13. Which of the following post-harvest practices do you apply?
 a. Cleaning
 b. Grading c. Packing
 d. Weighing e. Labelling f. Transporting g. Storing/cool storage
 h. All of above
B. Recording information
14. What information do you record (planting, pesticide application, harvest date?) how do you
record? _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
15. Do you encounter any challenges when recording these information?
 a. Yes. Why? ______________________________________________________________
 b. No. Why not? ___________________________________________________________
16. What are the purposes for recording the above information?
___________________________________________________________________________
C. Crop standard and certification institution
17. What type of crop standard does the company comply with?
 a. Organic
 b. Chemical-free  c. CAMGAP
d. Other (___________)
18. Which certifications do your firm possess?
 a. CAMGAP b. GI c. Organic
d. Other (___________)
19. Which institutions certify your agricultural product/s for export?
 a. GDA/MAFF
 b. ECOCERT c. COrAA
 d. USDA Organic e. JAS e. Other (_________________)
20. What are the procedures of applying for product certification? How long does it take?
___________________________________________________________________________
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___________________________________________________________________________
21. What are the compliant criteria?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
22. How long will the certification last? ______________________________________________
D. Products complaint
23. Have you ever got any complaint from buyer/business partner on?
 a. Produce quality  b. Chemical residue c. Microbial contamination d. Other (____)
Why? ______________________________________________________________________
Why not? ___________________________________________________________________
24. If you have ever got a complaint, how do you deal with such complaint? (Recall products
back?)______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
E. Product traceability system information
25. Do you have any traceability system in-place? (If No, Skip the Question 27)
 a. Yes. Why? ______________________________________________________________
 b. No. Why not? ___________________________________________________________
26. To what extend do you think that the traceability system is important?
 a. Very important  b. Important c. Not important  d. Other (__________)
27. If you do have a traceability system in-place, which companies do you collaborate with, where
are they from, and what is a rough fee-charge per annum?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
28. If the traceability system is available, would you be interested in applying it?
 a. Yes. Why_______________________________________________________________
 b. No. Why not? ___________________________________________________________
29. Which of the following traceability system technologies would you prefer to apply?
 a. Barcode b. QR code c. RFID
30. If you operate the traceability system, are you willing to share the data?
 a. Yes. Why_______________________________________________________________
 b. No. Why not? ___________________________________________________________
31. Are you willing to invest or co-invest in setting up a system? (Printing barcode, barcode
scanner)
 a. Yes. Why_______________________________________________________________
 b. No. Why not? ___________________________________________________________

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