China remains Vietnam's top pepper export market

Photo: Le Toan

According to preliminary data from the Vietnam Pepper Association (VPA), Vietnam exported 11,305 tonnes of pepper in the first 18 days of June, and the total export value reached $41.1 million.

China remains the top export market for Vietnamese pepper, with exports reaching 2,657 tonnes in the first 18 days of the month. The leading exporters are Nedspice Vietnam, Olam, and Pearl Group Corporation, with respective exports of 1,045 tonnes, 738 tonnes, and 670 tonnes.

Asia was the biggest destination for exports in the first five months of 2023, reaching 78,907 tonnes and accounting for 59.9 per cent of total export turnover, with China being the largest export market with 46,169 tonnes, accounting for 35 per cent and growing 1,668.9 per cent compared to the same period in 2022.

In contrast, imports of Vietnamese pepper into the Americas and the US fell by 13.1 per cent and 15.5 per cent, respectively. The EU region decreased by 9.4 per cent during the same time period. Currently, 16.8 per cent of Vietnam's total pepper export revenue comes from the EU.

"Buyers in this region have a strategy of anticipating more new crops from Indonesia (July–August) and Brazil in the hopes that the purchase price might decrease," said Hoang Thi Lien, VPA president.

"In addition, purchasers from the EU and the US have not rushed to enter the market in the past five months due to the abundance of inventory from prior years," she said.

Lien explained that Brazilian pepper has always been more competitively priced than Vietnamese pepper, but due to the issue of contamination from Salmonella on the EU market, Vietnamese products continue to have an edge on this market.

"Recently, in an effort to diversify markets, pepper from Brazil has begun to appear in the Middle East and Africa at lower prices than pepper from Vietnam, thanks to benefits in logistics and geographic location," Lien said.

The VPA advises domestic businesses to closely evaluate their financial capacity prior to signing contracts for large quantities, long-distance delivery, and low pricing and to be proactive in identifying new markets in the future.

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