HANOI: The positive export turnover in the first half of this year has created momentum for Vietnamese pepper to return to the group of billion-dollar export items by year-end.

Data from the Vietnam Pepper and Spice Association showed that Vietnam exported 142,586 tonnes of pepper, worth US$634.2mil in the first half, down 6.8% in volume but up 30.5% in value.

Of the total, exports of black pepper reached US$539.9mil, while that of white pepper hit US$94.3mil.

During the period, the average price of exported black pepper was US$4,365 per tonne, while that of white pepper was US$5,983 per tonne, up US$922 and US$1,082 respectively, year-on-year.

Price hikes were also seen in the domestic market.

The online newspaper nongnghiep.vn, cited Dao Van Lanh - a pepper farmer in Dong Nai Province’s Xuan Loc District - as saying that the price of pepper occasionally reached 180,000 dong per kg, a level that had not been reported in several years.

The price subsequently decreased but continued to be at a high level, Lanh said, adding that the price of pepper in Xuan Loc District reached 150,000 dong per kg at the beginning of July, double the price of the same period last year.

Hoang Phioc Binh, vice-chairman of the Chu Se Pepper Association in Gia Lai Province, agreed.

He said that the maximum price of pepper traded on the domestic market was 180,000 dong per kg during the 2023 to 2024 crop year.

In certain regions, prices even hit between 200,000 dong to 210,000 dong per kilo.

However, this price hike was only temporary (approximately one day) due to the imperative need of certain companies to purchase pepper for export orders, Binh said.

According to Binh, the current price of pepper is in a state of fluctuation, however, it is generally on an upward trajectory as the supply of pepper in the country experienced a substantial decrease in the 2023 to 2024 crop compared to the previous ones.

Binh anticipated that pepper prices would remain elevated in the coming years as each price increase cycle typically lasts approximately ten years.

He said that the potential for recovering the pepper cultivation area and production is not significant, in spite of the high pepper prices as current pepper producers have learned lessons from the previous price increase cycle.

Pepper prices reached a record high of over 200,000 dong per kg nearly a decade ago. This prompted farmers in numerous provinces to expedite the expansion of their pepper cultivation areas, even in locations that were not conducive to the cultivation of this crop.

That resulted in a surplus of pepper, which caused prices to decline steadily, causing substantial losses for numerous farmers.

Trade experts said that the expansion of pepper cultivation areas will be further restricted by the high prices and attractive profits of durian, coffee and other commodities, which directly compete with pepper in the Central Highland provinces.

Despite the current high prices of peppers, the pepper cultivation area will be unlikely to increase shortly due to a lack of agricultural labour and the difficulty farmers face in accessing bank loans to invest in pepper cultivation, they said.

Consequently, pepper cultivation areas in the Central Highlands and South-East regions have not experienced a resurgence, despite the high prices.

Rather, producers who are steadfast in their dedication to pepper are investing in the maintenance of their existing pepper gardens to reestablish their productivity, yield, and quality, nongnghiep.vn reported.

Vietnam is profiting from a shortage of pepper supply in the global market as a result of El Nino.

Experts predict that pepper production will fail to satisfy the global demand in the long term, specifically over the next three to five years.

 - ANN