Vietnam continues to dominate global pepper exports despite COVID-19

Despite enduring an overall decline of 25% in pepper output, the country continues to maintain its dominant position as part of the global pepper industry, accounting for over 60% of global pepper exports.

During the 11-month period, the nation grossed US$867.2 million from exporting 245,975 tonnes of pepper, a drop of 7% in volume, but up 43.8% in turnover against the same period from last year.

The United States remains the largest import market for Vietnamese peppers, reaching 55,602 tonnes throughout the reviewed period, up 9.6%, followed by China, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, France, Russia, Spain, and Canada.

Most notably, Vietnamese pepper exports increased by 4.9% in the European region with Germany taking the lead, followed by the Netherlands, the UK, and France.

In contrast, exports to the Asian region experienced a downward trajectory of 14.5%, while exports to the African region also endured a drop of 28.8%.

According to the forecast made by the International Pepper Community (IPC), the average global pepper price during the first 11 months of the year was estimated to stand at US$4,346 per tonne for black peppers and US$6,490 per tonne for white peppers, a year-on-year increase of 4%, with this trend set to continue increasing slightly ahead in 2022.

The Vietnam Pepper Association advised enterprises and production households to build sustainable organic pepper growing areas as soon as possible, as well as applying Global GAP, Viet GAP, and IPC GAP standards in production and processing.

The association also stressed the necessity of ensuring food hygiene and safety standards, whilst also dealing with issues related to pesticide and chemical residues in pepper in a bid to improve overall product quality, while diversifying pepper products to expand to high end markets such as the US and Europe.