PHNOM PENH (Xinhua) -- Cambodia could achieve its ambition to become one of the world's leading milled rice exporters by 2008 if it has sufficient capital to buy unmilled rice from local farmers, local media reported.

Cambodian local mills currently require 40 million U.S. dollars in capital to purchase unmilled rice from farmers to raise stocks for production of milled rice, the Rasmei Kampuchea newspaper quoted Pu Puy, president of the Rice Milling Association of Cambodia, as saying.

Cambodian farmers annually export more than one million tons of unmilled rice, particularly to neighboring Vietnam and Thailand, Pu Puy added. "We need around 40 million U.S. dollars, but the capital we have collected is only 10 million U.S. dollars," he said, "if we have adequate capital, we can export milled rice to the world market by 2008 or 2009."

He stressed that the country's 280 mills, which have an average capital each of 30,000 U.S. dollars to 100,000 U.S. dollars, can currently buy and stock only enough unmilled rice for production to serve local markets and small exports, the Rasmei Kampuchea said.

More than 80 percent of Cambodia's population are farmers who enjoy a generally favorable climate, so they could produce a surplus of over million tons of unmilled rice annually, but up until now they have not exported as much milled rice to the world markets as other producers due to a shortage of capital, he added.

Types of milled rice Cambodia known to be exported from Cambodia include the Neang Minh, Phka K'nhei and Phka Romduol varieties, the newspaper said.