Export of pepper, spices forecast to earn 2 billion USD in 2025

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

Export of pepper beans and spices would earn Vietnam 2 billion USD in 2025, according to President of the Vietnam Pepper Association (VPA) Hoang Thi Lien.

At a conference on pepper and spice export on April 21, Lien said the forecast is based on expectations that pepper prices will rise as demand recovers after COVID-19 while supply remains scarce.

Export prices are also expected to increase when processing improves and organic cultivation is expanded, she said.

Pepper beans and spices brought home more than 1.4 billion USD last year, with pepper accounting for 69.4%, cinnamon 20.6%, star anise 5.1%, cardamon and nutmeg 2.3%, ginger and turmeric 1.6% and chilli 0.8%.

Chief of the VPA Office Le Viet Anh estimated that pepper bean harvest in 2023 would be around 200,000 tonnes, up 9.3% year on year. Meanwhile, the International Pepper Community (IPC) has reported that output from other pepper producers like Brazil, Indonesia and India is forecast to drop.

As a result, total pepper output in the world is projected at 526,000 tonnes this year, compared to 537,600 tonnes in 2022.

Vietnam also expects a higher cinnamon output this year, at around 45,000 tonnes.

The country shipped abroad 76,727 tonnes of pepper beans for 235.9 million USD in the first quarter of 2023, up 40.5% in volume but down 7.3% in value year-on-year.

Export of cinnamon rose 45.8% in volume to 18,685 tonnes and 13.8% in value to 54.8 million USD.

Vietnam is one of the biggest exporters of pepper and spices, accounting for 11% of the global market in 2022./.