Prey Veng Province
10% of national rice from Cambodia's largest cultivation area, 1.16M population. Highway 1 to Vietnam; $20M inland port planned. By 2026: testing border logistics diversification.
Prey Veng Province functions as Cambodia's agricultural primary production engine—10% of national rice output from the country's largest rice cultivation area, feeding the national system while remaining relatively undifferentiated in the broader economy. With 1.16 million people (third most populous province), Prey Veng demonstrates how population density and agricultural productivity can coexist without generating proportional economic diversification.
Geographic position explains this productive specialization. Situated in the "great green belt" where the Mekong and Bassac rivers create fertile floodplains, Prey Veng's flat lowlands represent ideal rice cultivation terrain: rich soils, periodic monsoon flooding for natural irrigation, and river access for transport. This ecological niche—high water availability, low topographic variation—selects strongly for rice monoculture, with secondary crops (tobacco, mung beans, cassava, sugar, sesame, fruits) filling complementary niches.
The Vietnam border creates Prey Veng's primary differentiation opportunity. National Highway 1 running through the province connects Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City—one of Cambodia's busiest routes. The November 2024 completion of Vietnam-Cambodia boundary demarcation across four districts formalized territorial limits enabling deeper cross-border integration. The new Tan Nam-Meun Chey international border gate positions Prey Veng as gateway for bilateral exchange.
A $20 million inland port project—Cambodia's first—signals attempted economic phase transition from pure agricultural production toward logistics and processing hub functions. Prime Minister Hun Manet's encouragement of Prey Veng-Tay Ninh provincial coordination on agriculture, industry, and export processing indicates intentional development of Vietnam-facing economic corridors.
By 2026, Prey Veng's trajectory tests whether border infrastructure investment can catalyze economic diversification beyond rice, or whether the province remains locked in its primary production niche—feeding Cambodia efficiently while capturing limited value-add.