Cambodian premium aromatic rice brand “Malys Angkor”, of the Phka Rumduol variety, has won the World’s Best Rice Award for the seventh time, sharing the honour this year with a Vietnamese strain, at the World’s Best Rice Competition, held during the International World Rice Conference 2025 on November 9 in Phnom Penh.
The event was organised by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the Ministry of Commerce, with support from the Government of Australia through the Cambodia–Australia Partnership for Resilient Economic Development (CAPRED), the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) and various national and international companies.
This marks the seventh time Cambodia has won the World’s Best Rice title. The Kingdom first won in 2012, followed by victories in 2013, 2014, 2018, 2022 and 2024.
Following the win, the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) expressed its appreciation to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) for their efforts in developing high-quality rice varieties, as well as to Cambodian farmers for their hard work in cultivation.
Thanks were also extended to the Kingdom’s rice millers for their dedication to processing and polishing rice to high standards, leading to this prestigious recognition.
To help stabilise domestic paddy prices, which have been affected by declining international rice prices, the Cambodian government, through the Agriculture and Rural Development Bank (ARDB), last week announced the release of $40 million under a special financing programme. This fund provides revolving loans to rice mills partnering with ARDB and the agriculture ministry to purchase paddy from farmers at fair prices.
A November 8 press release from the ARDB noted that during the current harvest season, paddy prices have fallen, while international rice prices are also trending downward due to several countries continuing to use their 2024 food security rice stocks, leading to lower demand on the global market amid increasing rice production both in Cambodia and worldwide.
The statement explained that the government remains committed to maintaining price stability and protecting farmers’ livelihoods by implementing ongoing intervention measures, including the disbursement of funds under the government’s special financing programme.
“To stabilise paddy prices during the harvest season from November to December 2025 and into early 2026, the government has released an additional $40 million under its financing program to boost agricultural production, secure markets and maintain agricultural price stability. Through ARDB, these funds will be provided as revolving loans to partner rice mills to purchase as much paddy as possible from farmers at fair market prices,” it said.
