FMCG Committee meeting on Friday 21st June 2024

19 Jun 2024 | Fast Moving Consumer Goods Past Meetings

Last modified date: 21 Nov 2024

Duration: 1 hourย 

On Friday 21st June, the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) Committee, led by its Chairman Mr. Daren Ong, held its second meeting to discuss several concerning issues within the industry. Here are the key takeaways:

๐๐ž๐ฐ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐œ๐ฒ ๐‘๐ž๐œ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐ง ๐‹๐ž๐ ๐š๐ฅ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐œ๐ก๐š๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐€๐ ๐ž (๐‹๐๐€): The committee, along with the EuroCham team, has been revising a new policy recommendation on the โ€˜Minimum Legal Purchasing Age for Alcohol Products.โ€™ We respectfully request the Royal Government of Cambodia to implement a minimum purchasing age of 18 years for alcohol products.

๐๐ž๐ฐ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐œ๐ฒ ๐‘๐ž๐œ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐ง ๐‚๐ฅ๐ž๐š๐ซ ๐€๐๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐†๐ฎ๐ข๐๐ž๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ž๐ฌ: The FMCG Sub-Committee has been working on a new policy recommendation advocating the Royal Government of Cambodia to develop clear advertising guidelines to ensure stronger compliance, transparency, and consumer protection. Both papers are in the final process and will be updated on the Advocacy Compass Website.

ย ๐‚๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ข๐š๐ง๐œ๐ž ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐Œ๐ž๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐ฅ๐จ๐ ๐ฒ ๐‘๐ž๐ ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ: All imported pre-packaged products must obtain a metrology license by listing products with their net weight. Before selling their products, companies must provide samples to the National Metrology Center (NMC) for weight measurements to obtain a confirmation certificate. This certificate is valid for 2 years. This process is currently perceived as time-consuming, and our proposed solution is to conduct post-market monitoring instead.

๐‚๐จ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ž๐ญ๐ข๐œ & ๐ƒ๐ซ๐ฎ๐  ๐‘๐ž๐ ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง: Our members have expressed concerns about the complexity of the cosmetic and drug registration process, which poses significant challenges for importing companies. Currently, it involves eight steps and takes 2-3 months to receive online approval. Once approved, we must wait for hard copy notification certificates before the company can officially import and sell products, making the entire process take 5-6 months. The committee will collaborate closely with relevant government agencies to address these issues.

๐”๐ฉ๐œ๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐‚๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ž๐ž ๐„๐ฅ๐ž๐œ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง: The Committee will organise an election to elect new leadership scheduled for August. Paid members of the FMCG committee will have the right to vote and stand as candidates.