Harvesting pepper. — Photo vneconomy.vn

Việt Nam's pepper exports rose by 16.6 per cent in volume, but fell by six per cent in value last year compared to the same period of 2022.

It is forecasted that pepper exports will be favourable this year. Prices will rise due to reduced output, and inventories are currently at the lowest level in recent years.

However, experts said that the challenges facing the pepper industry were still huge.

Data from the General Department of Customs showed that Việt Nam exported 267,000 tonnes of pepper, bringing in US$912 million, last year.

The US continues to be the main export market of Vietnamese pepper in December last year, accounting for 30.7 per cent of the export market share, reaching 6,212 tonnes, an increase of 13.8 per cent compared to the previous month.

The following positions are the UAE markets reaching 1,271 tonnes; China reaching 1,030 tonnes and India reaching 1,011 tonnes.

According to the Việt Nam Pepper and Spice Association (VPSA), the country is one of the largest spice producers and exporters in the world, accounting for about 11 per cent of the global market share in 2022, ranking first in terms of producing and exporting pepper and cinnamon.

However, pepper area and output are decreasing. The area was more than 130,000 hectares in 2020. It declined to only 120,000 hectares last year, the output reached 190,000 tonnes.

Việt Nam continues to maintain its position as the world's largest pepper exporter, accounting for about 60 per cent of the market share.

In the context that demand from major markets such as the US and the EU is showing signs of recovery, domestic and export pepper prices have continuously increased again recently, pepper is expected to soon regain its position as a billion-dollar export industry in the new year.

On the world market, pepper prices have risen in the first days of this year. Although there are positive signs, VPSA said that the challenges for the pepper industry were still very large.

In addition to shrinking the area due to competition with a number of other crops, the pepper industry also faces a series of new requirements from importing countries, requiring both associations, businesses and farmers to have appropriate preparation and response.

Global pepper production in this year’s crop was also estimated to decline when forecasts from producing countries all fell. However, this decrease was still lower than the decrease in global consumption demand, so it was forecasted that pepper prices would be difficult to hike continuously in the long term, said a VPSA representative to Đại Đoàn Kết (Great National Unity) online newspaper.

In particular, exports of many types of agricultural products would have to comply with EU regulations on anti-deforestation and not causing harm to forests, which was initially applicable to six commodity industries, coffee, soybeans, wood, cattle, cocoa, rubber, and in the near future it might be applied to pepper, shared the representative.

VPSA recommended that businesses in the pepper industry needed to prepare in advance for this regulation.

Regarding emissions reduction, Việt Nam commits to cutting 30 per cent in 2030 and reaching Net Zero by 2050.

Therefore, the pepper industry needed to prepare in advance, including arranging factory and garden operations in a sustainable chain to both ensure compliance and meet the requirements and regulations that the Government was in the process of developing as well as help brought more income to people if the product met certification, said experts. — VNS