Vietnam, the world’s largest pepper exporter, finds itself on top of the pile, with other producer countries facing low stocks due to bad weather and crop diseases, said the Vietnam Pepper Association (VPA).
The country’s pepper sector has a major impact on global prices as pepper supplies are declining in giants like India, Brazil, and Indonesia said Do Ha Nam, chairman of VPA.
The Jakarta-based International Pepper Community (IPC) forecast a 15 – 20 per cent drop in world pepper production this year due to unfavorable weather and widespread pepper diseases.
World pepper consumption was estimated to grow at a rate of 3.46 per cent a year, suggesting those that still produce large volumes could benefit. But most of the spice producing countries sold out their stocks amid attractive prices in the last two months. These factors are bound to drive global prices skyward in the coming time, Nam said.
Last year, the world market’s total pepper supply was 200,000 tons, of which a whopping 120,000 tons was shipped from Vietnam alone, the VPA reported. The export price of Vietnamese pepper is forecast to remain high, at $2,500 – 3,000 per ton this year.
Market analysts said that domestic exporters had yet to fully tap into the prime business opportunity, as supplies had run out amid skyrocketing global prices. Nam pointed out that in the last two months, stockpiles of domestic exporters have dwindled to just 40 per cent as world rates skyrocketed. Some 60 per cent of the pepper stockpile was exported at $1,200 per ton.
The chairman attributed the price discrepancy and early shipment to lack of market information and unplanned procurement of exporters. Insufficient capital for stockpiles was also another challenge for local exporters. VPA urged pepper industry enterprises to increase cooperation, and work out a master plan for procurement, stockpile and shipment.
Vietnam, which used to export raw pepper, has in recent years intensified investment in employing advanced production lines to turn out high-grade pepper, capable of meeting strict requirements set by big markets such as the European Union, the US and Japan.
Vietnam cultivates some 52,500 hectares of pepper, with an average output of 2.3 tons per hectare, according to the association. Southern Binh Phuoc province alone has nearly 13,500ha under pepper cultivation.
(Youth)
Vietnamese
