At that time Vietnam was the largest pepper exporter in the world. However, the value of Vietnamese pepper exports declined 19% in the first 5 months of this year despite a 10% increase in volume. The plunging prices have hurt farmers. This has made developing a sustainable and reciprocal production model a must for Vietnam's pepper industry.
During the conference on building a safe and sustainable pepper production chain on Thursday in Dak Nong Province, a number of agreements on clean pepper cultivation were signed between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam Pepper Association, businesses and farmers. Each cultivation area will be given a code identification and pepper grown in such areas will be sold in the most demanding markets.
Co-ordination is a must in the context that Vietnam's pepper cultivation area has increased to 127,000 ha, 2.5 times higher than the plan for 2020. Meanwhile, pepper farmers are facing low prices and diseases. Price has plummeted from last year's peak of 9.70 USD per kilo to just above 3 USD per kilo. In this situation, co-ordination is necessary to stabilise the amount of land devoted to pepper cultivation and market prices.
The Vietnam Pepper Association also said that the world still needs 200 to 250,000 tonnes of pepper. Of that figure, 100,000 tonnes will come from VN. If farmers do not sell pepper for less than 3.5 USD, prices will gradually go up again.
