Local pepper exports enjoy surge amid COVID-19 pandemic

Amid the impact of the global pandemic, the Vietnam Pepper Association have suggested export enterprises should primarily focus on exploiting markets where social distancing measures have been eased, including China, the Republic of Korea, and Japan, all of which will serve and promote domestic consumption.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), 95% of the nation’s pepper is reserved for export, with only the remaining 5% being for domestic consumption.

The Ministry therefore underlined the need to look at re-designing pepper cultivation areas in an effort to promote application, in addition to technological advances in production, standardising farming processes, and enhancing clean agriculture-oriented production links.

According to figures released by the MARD, Vietnamese pepper production accounts for roughly half of global pepper output.

The country harvested an estimated 250,000 tonnes of pepper during the opening four months of the year, meeting 50% of the target set for the whole year, whilst the nation is poised to ship roughly 350,000 tonnes of pepper this year.