Pepper prices continue increase trend

Pepper prices on April 23 are at 98,000 VND per kilo in Dak Lak province, and 97,000 VND in Gia Lai and Dak Nong provinces. (Photo: VNA)

Pepper prices are forecast to soon exceed 100,000 VND per kilo on the domestic market.

Recently, pepper prices have skyrocketed. Experts said this price increase is related to the strong increase in coffee prices in the past months.

Specifically, in the Central Highlands, Vietnam's large pepper production region, the pepper price on April 23 is at 98,000 VND per kilo in Dak Lak province, and 97,000 VND in Gia Lai and Dak Nong provinces.

In the southeast region, the pepper price is at 96,500 VND per kilo in Dong Nai province, and 98,000 VND in Binh Phuoc and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces.

The domestic pepper price has increased continuously in the last week after steadily decreasing in the previous week. Last week, the pepper prices rose by 7,500-9,000 VND per kilo, Cong Thuong (Industry and Trade) Newspaper reported.

Rising world demand helped Vietnamese pepper prices recover strongly last week.

Meanwhile, Brazil and Indonesia will have no more supply until August. The pepper prices of Brazil and Indonesia are now higher than Vietnamese pepper, so the price increase potential of Vietnamese pepper is still very high.

According to the General Department of Customs, pepper exports in the first half of April 2024 reached 13,467 tonnes, worth nearly 58.47 million USD, up 15.4% in volume and 16.1% in value compared to the same period last month. The exports decreased 1.6% in volume year on year, but increased sharply by 40.1% in value.

In the first four months of 2024, the country’s pepper exports reached 70,248 tonnes, worth more than 294 million USD, down 21.8% in volume, but up 7% in value compared to the same period in 2023.

The average export price of pepper in the first half of April stood at 4,342 USD per tonne, up 0.8% compared to that in March.

So far in 2024, the average export price of pepper reached 4,189
USD per tonne, an increase of 36.8% over the same period in 2023.

The Vietnam Pepper and Spice Association (VPSA) said that the recent increase in pepper prices is due to low supply, high price of the US dollar, and conflicts in the world making transportation difficult. In addition, speculation is another reason for the increase.

The experts said that coffee and pepper are often grown in alternating areas. Due to recent dry and hot weather in key growing areas, many pepper plants died. The harsh weather also affects coffee trees, causing lower supply, so coffee and pepper prices both increase.

The association said Vietnam is still the largest producer and exporter of pepper in the world. However, the area and output of Vietnamese pepper are decreasing due to high competition and market fluctuations that create favourable conditions for development of other crops such as coffee and durian. That makes the pepper supply decrease, while pepper demand increases, so the pepper prices are up./.