Illustrative image (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – 2017 isforecast to be a difficult year for Vietnam’s pepper, which has seen fallingprices since the end of 2016, according to the Ministry of Agriculture andRural Development (MARD).
MARD said the pepper price hasdecreased by 35,000 VND (1.6 USD) to 120,000 VND (5.4 USD) per kilogram in theprovinces of Gia Lai, Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Dak Lak and Dong Nai, major pepper producers.
Do Ha Nam, President of theVietnam Pepper Association (VPA), said pepper output has increased over theyears and this has driven pepper prices down.
Vietnam is the world’s largestpepper exporter, accounting for 50 percent of the global pepper trade, meaninga change in Vietnam’s pepper output entail changes in prices.
According to the VPA, the demandfor pepper will continue to increase in the world market and farmers shouldimprove the quality of pepper.
In the first two months of thisyear, pepper exports reached 16,000 tonnes worth 112 million USD, down nearly20 percent in quantity and 36 percent in value.
The United States, India,Germany and the United Kingdom are Vietnam’s largest pepper consumptionmarkets, making up 41 percent of Vietnam’s total pepper export.-VNA
