PHNOM PENH, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia exported 184,844 tons of milled rice to China during the first 10 months of 2019, up 45 percent over the same period last year, said an official report released on Wednesday.

　　China is still the largest buyer of Cambodian rice during the January-October period this year, said the report of the Secretariat of One Window Service for Rice Export.

　　Export to China accounted for 40 percent of the country's total rice export, it said.

　　Song Saran, president of the Cambodia Rice Federation, said China is a huge market for Cambodian rice and the kingdom is expected to export a total of 250,000 tons to China this year.

　　"Chinese dishes and Cambodian rice are best match!" he told Xinhua. "I believe that Cambodian rice will become more and more popular in China in coming years."

　　Meanwhile, the Southeast Asian nation shipped 155,950 tons of rice to the European market, down 27 percent, said the report, adding that the European Union (EU)'s market share for Cambodian rice had declined to 34 percent from 49 percent.

　　The drop in the export to the European market came after the EU imposed earlier this year duties for three years on rice importing from Cambodia in a bid to curb a surge in rice imports from the country and to protect European producers.

　　According to the report, Cambodia exported a total of 457,940 tons of rice to 59 countries and regions during the first 10 months of this year, up 5.3 percent over the same period last year.