Peppercorn export drops in two months

Peppercorn export has experienced a decline in both value and volume in the first two months of 2017, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

During the period, Vietnam shipped overseas 16,000 tonnes of peppercorns for US$112 million, down 19.8% in volume and 36.3% in value compared to last year.

Business insiders attributed the reduction to a global oversupply trend.  

Vietnam has seen a surge in the number of the pepper growers following increasing peppercorns prices in recent years.

The country accounts for 50% of the global peppercorns for trade, thus its growing yield is likely to diminish prices on the global market.

Currently, domestic peppercorn prices are under VND120,000 (US$5.27) per kg, about VND35,000 (US$1.5) less than that of the same period last year. 

Do Ha Nam, head of the Vietnam Pepper Association (VPA), said the prices still bring profit for growers, and are higher than that of other industrial plants, such as coffee and rubber trees. 

He pointed to accelerating quality management as a way to avoid external pressures to reduce price on the global market.