Stevia Nutra Corporation, a Canadian agro-company, said in a press release on Friday that the initial growing season of stevia, commonly known as sweetleaf, in Cambodia was successfully completed.
THIS REPORT IS ENGLISH ONLY – GERMAN here …
The first harvest of high-quality stevia leaves has now commenced and samples have been prepared for testing to determine its sweetness, a key determinant to the commercial viability of a stevia crop, the statement said in Cambodia.
Stevia is used as a natural low-calorie sweetener and sugar substitute, having up to 300 times the sweetness of sugar. Stevia Nutra Corp had acquired 20 hectares of prime agricultural land in Kampong Speu province, according to a company statement in June 2012, adding that it plans to expand to 2,000 hectares, if the test results are positive.
Stevia Nutra’s chief agronomist, Ahmed El Sheikh, said in the statement: “The ideal growing conditions here in Cambodia combined with our choice of seed variety and rigorous agronomy protocols have proven to be very effective. The stevia plants are thriving with better than expected growth, and we are optimistic that initial leaf testing will yield positive results.”
Leaf samples have been sent to the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing and will decide about the crop’s potential in Cambodia.
“Matching climate, soils, nutrients and cultivation practices with a robust and productive seed variety is a challenging exercise, and our team [with local partner Ecologica Co Ltd] has delivered,” Stevia Nutra Corp’s President, Brian Dicks, noted, adding that Kampong Speu had proved to be an excellent site.
While stevia had been widely used for decades as a sweetener in Japan, health concerns and political controversies have limited its availability in some countries such as those in the European Union. However, since 2011 the plant has been approved for use in the EU.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that it would make up about 20 per cent of the global sweetener market, valued today at over $10 billion, by 2015.
Read Phnom Penh Post
Author | Sarah Thust
Last Update | 18.03.2013
Licensed | Phnom Penh Post
About the Phnom Penh Post
The Phnom Penh Post claims to be the oldest existing independent newspaper in any language in Cambodia. First published in July 1992, the Post is read by thousands of foreigners and Cambodians throughout the country.
About the Phnom Penh Post
The Phnom Penh Post claims to be the oldest existing independent newspaper in any language in Cambodia. First published in July 1992, the Post is read by thousands of foreigners and Cambodians throughout the country.
Schreibe einen Kommentar Antworten abbrechen
Diese Website verwendet Akismet, um Spam zu reduzieren. Erfahre mehr darüber, wie deine Kommentardaten verarbeitet werden.
Neueste Beiträge
- Wie Maskengegner systematisch Druck auf Schulen aufbauen 23. Dezember 2020
- Correctiv-Faktencheck: Alle Texte seit Juli 2020 13. Dezember 2020
- Impfstudie: Alles deutet darauf hin, dass dieser Arzt in Brasilien nicht durch eine Corona-Impfung starb 12. Dezember 2020
- Your brain, your enemy | INside Travel Blog 3. Oktober 2020
- Nein, Putin hat Rothschild nicht vertrieben oder die „Unabhängigkeit“ vom US-Dollar erklärt 16. September 2020
Social Media