High export prices help maintain good export turnover of pepper in the first quarter of 2025 despite a decrease in export volume.
The export price of pepper continues to maintain its upward trend in the first quarter of 2025, helping export turnover to grow positively despite a decrease in volume. However, the decision to impose a minimum import tax of 10% and a countervailing duty of up to 46% by the United States is concerning the entire industry.
Statistics from the Vietnam Pepper and Spice Association (VPSA) show that in March, Vietnam exported 20,244 tons of pepper of all types. Black pepper accounted for 17,493 tons and white pepper for 2,751 tons. The total export turnover was 141.6 million USD. Compared to February, the export volume increased by 41.3%, and the export value increased by 45.6%. Compared to the same period last year, exports decreased by 21.2%; however, the export value increased by 27.9%.
The average export price of black pepper in March reached 6,790 USD/ton, while white pepper reached 8,802 USD/ton, an increase of 122 USD for black pepper and 268 USD for white pepper compared to the last month.
High export prices help maintain good export turnover for pepper in the first quarter of 2025 despite a decrease in export volume.
By the end of the first quarter of 2025, Vietnam had exported 47,660 tons of pepper, including 39,853 tons of black pepper and 7,807 tons of white pepper. The total export turnover reached 326.6 million USD. Compared to the same period last year, the export volume decreased by 16.1%; however, the export value increased by 38.6%.
The average export price of black pepper in the first quarter was 6,711 USD/ton, an increase of 94.9%, and white pepper reached 8,617 USD/ton, an increase of 73.9% compared to the same period in 2024.
The United States continued to be the largest market, importing 10,278 tons in the first three months of the year. This country accounted for over 21% of Vietnam’s total pepper export volume, despite a 32.6% decrease compared to the same period last year. Next were India, Germany, the UAE, and China. China was the market with an impressive increase of 87.8% compared to the last month, although the import volume was much lower than last year.
On the contrary, Vietnam’s pepper imports also increased significantly. In March, imports reached 4,940 tons, with a value of 28.9 million USD, an increase of over 80% compared to the last month. In the first quarter, Vietnam imported 9,686 tons of pepper, with a value of 55.7 million USD, an increase of 21.3% in volume and 88.8% in value. Brazil, Indonesia, and Cambodia were the three largest suppliers.
Although export growth is promising, the announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump to impose a minimum 10% tax on all imported goods and a 46% countervailing tax on imports from Vietnam has caused concern among pepper exporters. Because pepper is one of Vietnam’s key agricultural products that has a good market share in the United States.
In this context, some businesses are considering renegotiating with American importers so that each party bears half of the overall 10% import tax on all goods. As for the countervailing duties on goods imported from Vietnam into the U.S., it is still unclear.
The pepper industry is working on the specific tax rates on Vietnamese pepper to come up with the next response.