Pepper prices tumble to 10-year low

Pepper prices in the Central Highlands have plunged to VND48,000-49,000 per kilogram, the lowest price point over the last decade, reported news website Vietnamplus.

The prices are VND4,000-5,000 lower than that late last month and represent a decline of VND151,000-152,000 per kilogram against 2015 when prices were sky high at around VND200,000 a kilo.

Farmers in the Central Highlands have suffered heavy losses as their input costs for labor, irrigation, fertilizers and pesticides remain high.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak, the low pepper price is attributable to the expansion of the pepper growing area, especially in the Central Highlands and southeast regions, resulting in an abundant supply, while market demand has remained unchanged.

Pepper prices were forecast to continue fluctuating for the rest of the year, causing multiple difficulties for growers.

Due to the price fall, pepper farmers in the Central Highlands have reduced their pepper plantation areas, choosing to grow other crops instead.

Local authorities have encouraged farming households in the region to form groups or cooperatives and cooperate with enterprises to produce high-quality pepper, thus paving the way for the sustainable development of the sector.

Over the last five years, farmers in the Central Highlands have rushed to grow pepper, doubling the pepper plantation area compared with the planned area.

At present, the Central Highlands provinces have more than 85,200 hectares under pepper cultivation. Dak Lak has the largest pepper plantation area, at 42,600 hectares, whereas it had earlier planned to have only 15,000 hectares of pepper by 2020.