The average export price of Vietnamese pepper fell by 62 per cent year-on-year in the first eight months of 2018 to around US$3,330 per tonne following a dip in the global market, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The ministry forecast the export price of Vietnamese pepper as well as global pepper prices were unlikely to recover this year due to low demand and upcoming harvests in major pepper producing countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Brazil.

Viet Nam exported 20,000 tonnes of pepper in August, earning $58 million, bringing total pepper export volume to 173,000 tonnes and value to $576 million in the first eight months of this year, reported bnews.vn.

Pepper exports in the first eight months rose 3.2 per cent in volume but dropped 36 per cent in value over the same period last year.

The major export markets for Vietnamese pepper were the US, India, Pakistan, Germany and the United Arab Emirates. Export volume to most markets increased sharply while value declined.

In the domestic market, pepper prices in August dropped close to production costs. The price of black pepper at the end of August ranged from VND47,000 to VND48,000 per kilo, down VND4,000 to VND5,000 per kilo from July. At this price, many farmers are operating at a loss. — VNS