Since 2000, Viet Nam has been the globe's leading pepper producer and exporter, accounting for a 50 per cent share of the world market. — Photo thesaigontimess.vn

HCM CITY (Biz Hub) — Viet Nam's pepper shipments to foreign markets performed well, with export revenues from January to November close to that recorded in 2014, reported a conference in HCM City early this week.

According to the Viet Nam Pepper Association (VPA), the country gained a year-on-year increase of 2.8 per cent in export value of pepper at US$1.2 billion in the first 11 months of this year, though the export volume reduced by 17 per cent to 124,000 tonnes of pepper.

In the reviewed period, the average export price of pepper was $9,528 per tonne, up 20 per cent compared with the previous year.

The nation expected to sell about 130,000 tonnes of pepper this year, with earnings of $1.24 billion.

Last year, 156,0000 tonnes of peppercorn were sent to foreign markets, bringing $1.21 billion to the country, representing a 16.38 per cent increase in volume and 34.72 per cent in value, the highest figures recorded so far both in volume and value.

Since 2000, Viet Nam has been the globe's leading pepper producer and exporter, accounting for a 50 per cent share of the world market. It sells peppercorns to 100 countries and territories worldwide with Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and the United States as its largest buyers.

In recent years, the country's pepper cultivation area has expanded, and is estimated to exceed 100,000 ha in 2015.

However, according to VPA Chairman Do Ha Nam, the pepper sector is seeing difficulties as it has to satisfy stricter requirements on food safety from foreign importers.

This situation requires the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to create master strategies for the sector's development in each locality, Nam stressed, adding that it was necessary to issue support policies and measures to promote pepper production in accordance with the Good Agricultural Practices guidelines.

The association said Vietnamese pepper products would gain an advantage in tariff after the Trans Pacific Partnership deal (TPP) comes into effect because 11 TPP member countries would abolish import tariffs for Vietnamese pepper products under the deal.

To increase further competitive ability of local pepper, Vo Thanh Do, deputy head of the Department of Agro, Forestry and Seafood Processing and Salt Production, said by 2020, the nation did not need to build more pepper processing factories and would focus on reforming technology and equipment and expanding production scales to improve quality of the products. — VNS