A rice bran oil factory in Battambang province has commenced refining six tonnes of oil daily and is primed to sell its products in local markets after the Khmer New Year celebrations.
Its owner Chhen Chandara defied the the gloomy predictions of certain economists who asserted that the rice bran oil business required too significant of an investment in capital and was incapable of attracting the millions of dollars needed to establish such a factory.
“As a young man aspiring to innovate something new for Cambodia, particularly in local production, I overcame challenges despite some economists saying it was impossible due to the considerable expenses,” he said.
In 2015, Chandara attended an exhibition in China where he developed an interest in rice bran oil production. He conducted research on the feasibility and cost of establishing a factory in Cambodia.
This eventually led to him establishing the Sokhak rice bran oil factory, which he said is the first in Cambodia, but his plans were initially thwarted due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Now he’s back on track making progress towards his goals again.
“The Sokhak rice bran oil will be available in the local markets after the Khmer New Year. It will be more affordable than the rice bran oil imported from neighbouring countries. My goal is to produce up to 50 tonnes of rice bran oil annually using 250 to 300 tonnes of rice bran within another year or two,” he told The Post.
Chandara’s company, Cambodian Rice Bran Oil Co Ltd, finished assembling its machinery in December 2022 and then began a testing phase that lasted for around 20 days once the holidays wrapped up.
The company’s rice bran oil products were exhibited at the first Cambodia-International Science, Technology & Innovation Expo 2023, held in late March.
As a result of the ministry’s efforts following the Covid-19 crisis, Chandara’s rice bran oil plant utilised state-of-the-art automation machines with an investment of $6 million – alongside an additional investment of $2 million for initial production – and he was encouraged to present his products at the exhibition.
He said there are no rice bran oil refinery plants in Cambodia except for small enterprises that can only produce up to 100kg of oil per day. In contrast, Sokhak rice bran oil from Chandara’s plant can be produced in quantities of approximately 10 tonnes per day.
Chandara said his factory, situated in Thma Koul district, can produce 10 tonnes of rice bran oil from 50 to 80 tonnes of rice bran, along with some other refining components.
He recalled that since the Sangkum Reastr Niyum-era under the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodia experienced a surge in the demand for rice exports to global markets.
He noted that Cambodia also used to have rice bran oil factory in the capital’s Russey Keo district, but regrettably, these significant accomplishments were destroyed during the Khmer Rouge regime and progress was set back in the sector along with all others.
Chandara fully endorses the government’s slogan of “Buy Local to Create Jobs for Cambodians” and as an owner of a medium-sized enterprise, he appreciates the sentiment though he expects that his business will soon be profitable without further direct assistance.
The establishment of this rice bran oil factory focuses on several key goals: Reducing exports of raw materials, reducing imports of finished products, decreasing the need for workers to migrate and providing a cost-effective alternative to expensive imported cooking oil products.
According to Kim Huot, director of the Battambang provincial Department of Commerce, the factory’s production will help reduce the use of imported cooking oil, which he said is often poor quality or not up to health standards and can have potentially harmful effects on people.
Chandara said the extraction or separation of oil from rice bran demands the use of six materials according to international standards, but only salt can be sourced locally, while the other components need to be imported.
He has also noticed a severe shortage of mechanical components and raw materials for the extraction of rice bran oil in Cambodia. He mentioned that in the past, rice bran oil was extracted by pressing it manually using various primitive methods. However, these ancient methods are inadequate for extracting all of the oil from the rice bran and are too inefficient to scale up to factory production.
He added that the standard factory now uses an extraction method capable of absorbing all the oil from the rice bran mixture. He further claimed that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said this extraction method has been used for “over 100 years without affecting consumer health”.
Chandara said that there are numerous health benefits to using rice bran oil and the information regarding them can easily be found online through trusted sources like the WHO.
Regarding the color of rice bran oil, Chandara explains that it is dependent on the specific attributes of the raw materials. Since the factory primarily utilizes jasmine rice bran as its main raw material, the final color of the oil will be golden like the bran’s natural colour.
He highlighted the superior quality of locally-produced rice Cambodian by noting that it is cultivated with minimal fertilizer applied to it in accordance with the guidelines set by the agriculture ministry throughout the entire production process from start to finish.
“Rice bran from Thailand, Vietnam, India, Sri Lanka or Bangladesh produces a maximum of 16 per cent oil yield. However, Cambodian rice bran yields approximately 20 per cent oil,” he said.
In addition to the quality of the rice left over from the bran, the refining of this raw material takes place within 48 hours after the bran is taken from the rice mill, because if the rice bran is kept for an extended period of time, it could potentially affect the quality of the oil.
Chandara is collaborating with the Cambodian Rice Federation to encourage mill owners to prioritize rice bran products alongside maintaining the quality of the Kingdom’s rice.
“When they mill the rice, they transport it to sell without much regard to the bran, broken rice and husks. My desire is for them to differentiate between rice bran and rice husks separately as each waste product provides distinct advantages,” said Chandara, who previously studied economics, political science and international relations abroad at China’s University of Political Science and Law.
He acknowledges that he has encountered numerous challenges in the production of rice bran oil because it’s new in Cambodia and there’s a lack of clarity or regulation surrounding the import of certain necessary materials.
“The import of certain substances for making this product can raise red flags with the authorities who think that the substance is being used for drug production and so it is strictly monitored and controlled,” he said.
Battambang provincial administration spokesman Soeum Bunrith told The Post that he welcomed the plan to build more rice bran oil factories in the province, which he said would boost economic growth and provide employment opportunities that could discourage individuals from migrating.
Chandara said that the factory presently employs 55 people, 20 of whom are women, in addition to related but indirect job creation with distribution agents and other businesses.
