Public, private sectors partner to boost sustainable peppercorn industry

A farmer harvests peppercorn in Bu Dop district of Binh Phuoc province (Photo: VNA)

A memorandum of understanding has been signed among the Plant Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH), and the Sustainable Spices Initiative (SSI) with a view to promoting sustainable peppercorn production and trading.

Accordingly, the relevant parties pledged to coordinate in promoting sustainable peppercorn production and trading until 2025.

The Plant Protection Department will step up policy completion and capacity building in the management and responsible use of crop protection chemicals, facilitate the connectivity in safe production, the monitoring of food safety, and peppercorn origin tracing so as to expand farming and meet safe and sustainable production requirements.

The SSI is responsible for working with the European Spice Association and the American Spice Trade Association on their markets’ quality requirements and attracting investment from its member companies to sustainable production in value chains in Vietnam.

Meanwhile, IDH will provide advice and financial support and coordinate assistance from international organisations for this public-private partnership (PPP).

Nguyen Quy Duong, Deputy Director of the Plant Protection Department, told the signing ceremony on March 30 that Vietnam is the world’s largest peppercorn producer and exporter. Its peppercorn accounts for some 60 percent of the total volume traded globally.

However, the country’s peppercorn industry is facing major challenges like low prices, unsustainability, and failure to meet the increasingly stringent requirements of importing markets, he acknowledged.

Enhancing PPPs is an appropriate solution to this problem, he said, stressing that the State will create a favourable policy environment for the private sector to seek markets, ensure sustainable production, and meet importers’ standards.

Duong expressed his belief that the newly inked memorandum will become a considerable driver for the industry to achieve sustainability./.