Pepper is on its way back to the billion-dollar industry

After years of being excluded from the group of commodities with export turnover of $1 billion or more, Vietnamese pepper is on its way back to this group.

Pepper is on its way back to the billion-dollar industry.

Vietnam’s pepper exports are witnessing impressive growth in value during the first half of this year. According to the Vietnam Pepper and Spice Association (VPSA), as of the end of June 2024, Vietnam had exported nearly 143,000 tons of various types of pepper, including 126,000 tons of black pepper and nearly 17,000 tons of white pepper.

Compared to the same period last year, pepper exports in the past six months decreased by 6.8%; however, thanks to higher export prices, export revenue increased by 30.5% and reached $634 million (black pepper reached $540 million, white pepper reached $94 million).

In the first six months of the year, the average export price of black pepper reached US$4,365/ton, and white pepper reached US$5,983/ton, an increase of US$922/ton for black pepper and US$1,028/ton for white pepper respectively compared to the first six months of 2023.

In the domestic market, pepper prices remain high. Currently, pepper prices are fluctuating, sometimes rising and sometimes falling, but overall, the trend is expected to continue increasing.

The main reason is that the supply of pepper in Vietnam has now run out due to a significant decrease in production in the 2023-2024 crop year compared to the previous year.

Not only in Vietnam, but the global supply of pepper is also being limited due to the effects of El Nino. In the long term, over the next 3-5 years, the amount of pepper produced will not be able to meet the world’s consumption needs.

Source: Agriculture Newspaper