Vietnam Pepper Output to Fall by 20% This Year-Association

Vietnam, the world’s biggest pepper exporter, will likely produce only 90,000 tons of pepper in 2010, down 20% on-year, due to bad weather and diseases, said Do Ha Nam, chairman of the Vietnam Pepper Association (VPA).

 

Nam said at the VPA annual conference held in HCM City on May 7 that the country will export around 850,000-900,000 tons this year, down from 134,264 tons a year earlier.

 

But Vietnam will not expand its pepper area under a commitment to keep stable supply with five other members in the International Pepper Commodity who fear that the over-supply of pepper may result in a prices’ slump, Nam said.

 

He asked local farmers to focus on developing pepper areas following a sustainable development model and food safety, recommending the farmers and firms coordinate to adjust the sale volume to suit market demands and prices.

 

In order to boost the sustainability of pepper production and reap a high export value, VPA proposed that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development conduct pepper growing according to the Good Agriculture Practices (GAP) from 2010, assist the building of pepper trademarks and promulgate pepper standards for enterprises to apply in production and export.

 

VPA also proposed that the Finance Minister exempt the value added tax (VAT) for exported pepper to help enterprises ease the shortage in capital.

 

Vietnam exported 43,000 tons of pepper for $130 million in the first four months of 2010, representing on-year rises of 9.6% in volume and 39.5% in value. The U.S., Germany and India remained as the biggest importers. (Vietnam Economic Times)