Local pepper exports enjoy surge amid COVID-19 pandemic

Despite increasingly complicated developments surrounding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic globally, the nation’s pepper exports to major markets, including the United States, the Philippines, Egypt, and the UK, witnessed an upswing in mid-July.

In line with the latest figures, the country shipped 123,000 tonnes valued at US$ 2.84 million to foreign markets throughout June, representing a 115.6% in volume and 127.6% growth in value annually.  Of the data, over 4,000 tonnes worth US$9.88 million were exported to the US during the same period of time.

Amid the impact of the global pandemic, the Vietnam Pepper Association have suggested export enterprises should primarily focus on exploiting markets where social distancing measures have been eased, including China, the Republic of Korea, and Japan, all of which will serve and promote domestic consumption.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), 95% of the nation’s pepper is reserved for export, with only the remaining 5% being for domestic consumption.

The Ministry therefore underlined the need to look at re-designing pepper cultivation areas in an effort to promote application, in addition to technological advances in production, standardising farming processes, and enhancing clean agriculture-oriented production links.

According to figures released by the MARD, Vietnamese pepper production accounts for roughly half of global pepper output.

The country harvested an estimated 250,000 tonnes of pepper during the opening four months of the year, meeting 50% of the target set for the whole year, whilst the nation is poised to ship roughly 350,000 tonnes of pepper this year.