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Pepper exports tipped to fall with output, prices to rise
Pepper exports from Viet Nam, the world's largest exporter, is expected to drop to around 85,000-95,500 tonnes this year because of a decrease in output and depleting stocks.
Speaking at a meeting of the Viet Nam Pepper Association last Friday in HCM City, Chairman Do Ha Nam said the country's total pepper output this year would be about 90,000 tonnes, down 20 percent over last year due to natural disasters, drought and pests.
In addition, a large portion of pepper creepers aged more than 10 years were offering low yields, he said.
However, the first harvest of 2,000ha of newly planted areas had helped mitigate a fall in output, Nam said.
According to the International Pepper Community, world pepper output this year will also fall by nearly 9,000 tonnes against 2009 to 279,650 tonnes due to unfavourable weather conditions and pests.
With demand remaining high and supply limited, pepper prices would continue to increase in the coming time, promising higher revenues for domestic pepper producers and exporters, Nam said.
Viet Nam exported 43,000 tonnes of pepper worth nearly US$132 million in the first four months of the year, an increase of 41 per cent in value over the same period last year due to higher prices, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
The average export price of black and white pepper this year increased by $567 and $382 per tonne to $2,700 and $3,800 per tonne, respectively.
"Despite being the world's largest exporter, the country mainly exports raw pepper, which makes Vietnamese pepper products more vulnerable to price instability," Nam said.
The sector should do more to grow the spice in a sustainable manner, he said.
Nam also urged pepper farmers to adopt organic farming methods and improve technologies in harvest and preservation to raise pepper quality and ensure food safety for pepper products.
He called on enterprises to invest more in upgrading processing technologies to add more value to Vietnamese pepper, step up trade promotion and improve demand forecasting.
The association has suggested the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to put pepper cultivation into the VietGap project this year and support localities in building brand for pepper products.
Nam said the Government should soon promulgate Vietnamese standards for pepper quality so that enterprises could apply them in processing and export to raise the quality and value of Vietnamese pepper.
The association has also proposed that the Ministry of Industry and Trade offer incentives for enterprises who build bonded warehouses in other countries and support the sector in enhancing trade promotion programmes in traditional and potential markets.
Last year, the country exported a record of 135,000 tonnes of pepper worth $347 million, an increase of 49 per cent in volume and 11.46 per cent in value over 2008.
Vietnamese pepper products are currently exported to 55 countries and territories, the association said, with Germany being the country's largest pepper importer, followed by the US, according to the association.
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