Doing business responsibly and with integrity “Proper use of Organic and CAMGAP label on vegetable.”

The topic of accountability and integrity in business activities is not new. Consumers today pay more attention to social issues and require these companies to do business not only for profit but also to respond to social problems and protect the environment. Therefore, in response to this new trend, many large corporations and companies have made great efforts to transform and develop their business activities into more socially responsible businesses by supporting more social, environmental, and philanthropic activities.

Participate in improving the business environment in Cambodia. In Cambodia, the government has passed laws that target retailers and food processors and require all suppliers to comply with quality assurance standards for vegetables and fruits. Notably, the laws that have come into effect in Cambodia, such as the Trademark Law and the Act of Dishonest Competition 2002, the Consumer Protection Act 2019, and the Competition Law 2022, are all applicable. These laws will help boost customer confidence in businesses, especially ensuring that firms or companies operating in Cambodia are honest and socially responsible and their customers.

In agri-business, Khmer Organic Cooperative (KOC) is one of the most prominent companies in Cambodia. KOC was the first agricultural company in Cambodia to receive organic vegetable standards from the European Union in 2017 and has continued to receive this standard every year until now. The first factor that led the company to achieve this standard every year is that Khmer Organic Cooperative is a company that has a company registration and has the right to do business in Cambodia.

Mr. Pich Borath, KOC’s general manager, stated that KOC had been legally registered with the Ministry of Commerce since 2015 and registered with the General Department of Taxation of the Kingdom of Cambodia. For tax payments, KOC always makes tax declarations every month and every year.

“For us, registration and tax payment are obligations that companies must do to ensure the integrity of the company, Mr. Pich Borath.“

In addition, the company’s operations are always committed to customer integrity. For example, in sales, before the KOC farm received EU standards, labels did not show that they had EU standards, only demonstrating compliance with EU standards. Even during the waiting time when KOC received approval to use them, KOC still didn’t use the label until they received an official organic certificate in 2017.

He added that the effort to adopt this standard is to show that local companies in Cambodia can also meet the strict requirements of European standards and strengthen the trust and confidence of all customers to use local vegetables.

According to the EU Organic Vegetable Labeling Guidelines, the EU Organic Vegetable label can only be used on vegetables that have been certified organic by a regulatory agency or authorized body.

Mr. Neang Thai, KOC’s Standards Manager, stated that we had met the strict requirements of European organic standards on how to grow, package, transport, and store in the cabinets. If we look closely at organic labels, we will see that next to the EU organic labels is the code of the inspection unit and the place of origin where the product is grown.

The use of EU organic vegetable labels is to follow the instructions in the EU Organic Vegetable Principles, such as EU logos not to be smaller than 13.5 mm by 9 mm, and in the case of the smallest packaging it does not Possibly, 9 mm multiplied by 6 mm is allowed. The entire label must clearly indicate the name of the organic vegetable being packaged, the date of packaging, the weight and a barcode number indicating the location of cultivation. In addition, the logo must be displayed in green and white and cannot be played with any different colors, for example, by making the background transparent or adding 3D effects.

For Cambodia Good Agriculture Practice (CAMGAP) vegetables, the label is issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, which has the General Department of Agriculture. The Certificate of Good Agricultural Practice is given directly to the farmer.

“We are responsible for providing technical advice and training to partner farmers so they are fully qualified to receive the CAMGAP certification, Mr. Neang Thai“

After the farmer receives the certificate, the company or the farmer can request a CAMGAP label from the General Department of Agriculture based on the cultivated report of the certified farmer. This process can be complicated and will not keep up with the sales situation in the market because the company and the farmers must prepare clear documents about the type of vegetables being grown and the harvesting time.

To help the farmer, there is local technical staff to monitor and prepare those documents before the farmer’s harvest. On the other hand, this arrangement makes it easy for the Ministry to monitor the CAMGAP labels circulating in the market are grown by Cambodian farmers.

For CAMGAP labels, the company simply takes the logo issued by the General Department of Agriculture and adds it to the company logo on the packaged vegetables. Therefore, customers can quickly identify organic or CAMGAP vegetables by simply checking the package label.

The logos used by KOC, both the Organic and CAMGAP logos, follow the guidelines in the Prakas on Cambodian Standards CS001-2000, even though the organic cooperative’s products are not yet classified as food. According to the Prakas on Cambodian Standards CS001-2000, all labels must be labeled to provide clear and sufficient information to consumers, such as product name, trademark, ingredient list, total weight, location, packaging, barcode manufacturer, and date of packaging. In addition, the text language in the logo must be Khmer and can add other languages.

Improper use of EU organic labels does not receive any penalty by any law because Cambodia does not yet have organic standards. However, the case of selling EU organic vegetables with the logo of the KOC is protected by Articles 65, 66, 67, and 68 of the Trademark Law and the act of unfair competition of 2002. In addition, the Consumer Protection Law, which came into effect in 2019, also contributes to consumer protection, promotes fair competition, and creates an atmosphere of trust between consumers and businesses. In this law, if the customer finds that the company has used the wrong logo advertised, the customer can file a complaint to the National Committee for Consumer Protection about the company’s misconduct.

For improper use of the CAMGAP label or fraudulent use, the General Department of Agriculture will take action against any company or individual with a fine and, in the worst case, revocation of the license.

All penalties are in accordance with the law, depending on the offense committed by the company; for example, if the company intends to falsify the trademark to mislead customers, the competent authorities may apply the penalties outlined in Article 64 of the Trademark Law. The unfair competition may result in a fine of 1 million to 20 million riels or imprisonment from 1 to 5 years. Article 65 is punishable by a fine of 5 million riels up to 10 million riels or imprisonment of one month up to five months for any person who imitates the trademark service of any other company; this article is to prevent the counterfeiting of other companies’ trademarks. Consumers can file a complaint to the local authority or the National Consumer Protection Committee using the Consumer Protection Act. For Prakas on Cambodian Standards, all penalties can be applied when a company or trader faulty uses Cambodian Standard Certificate. The penalties include canceled, suspended, or revoked from the registration certificate and fined from two million Riels to twenty-four million riels or imprisonment from 1 to 5 months.

The proper use of organic and CAMGAP labels is very beneficial for the company and the consumers. The company is certified to be accurate and honest in doing business so that customers have more confidence in the company’s products. For customers, using this logo guarantees that the company can provide customers that their products are responsible and have a clear standard. In this sense, it can be an incentive for companies and vegetable shops in Phnom Penh to participate in the use of organic and CAMGAP labels for a responsible and honest business.