By July 15, 2024, the total export turnover of pepper reached 690.7 million USD, and imports reached 74.1 million USD. With this result, the whole pepper industry exported a surplus of 616.6 million USD.
According to the Vietnam Pepper and Spice Association (VPSA), by July 15, 2024, the total export turnover of pepper reached 690.7 million USD and imports reached 74.1 million USD (mainly raw materials). With this result, the whole trade surplus was 616.6 million USD.
In the first half of July 2024, Vietnam exported 9,993 tons of pepper.
Specifically, in the first 15 days of the month, Vietnam exported 9,993 tons of pepper, with a turnover of 56.5 million USD. In contrast, the country imported 746 tons, with a turnover of 4.5 million USD.
Previously, according to the VPSA, by the end of June 2024, Vietnam had exported 142,586 tons of pepper of all kinds, down 6.8% in volume but up 30.5% in turnover. Black pepper exports reached 125,959 tons, and white pepper reached 16,627 tons. Total export turnover reached 634.2 million USD, black pepper reached 539.9 million USD, and white pepper reached 94.3 million USD.
In the first six months of 2024, the US was Vietnam’s largest pepper export market with a volume of 37,435 tons, up 44.6% over the same period last year, accounting for 26.3% of the market share.
Next, the German market reached 9,526 tons, up 106.7%; the UAE reached 8,388 tons, up 15.2%; India reached 8,173 tons, up 45.7%; China reached 7,453 tons, down 85.2%; and the Netherlands reached 6,019 tons, up 52.1%. Leading white pepper export markets include: Germany 2,454 tons, the US 2,044 tons, the Netherlands 1,779 tons, Thailand 1,732 tons, and China 1,567 tons.
In the opposite direction, Vietnam imported 18,002 tons of pepper of all kinds. Black pepper reached 16,357 tons, and white pepper reached 1,645 tons. Total import turnover reached 69.6 million USD, up 18.9% over the same period last year. Imports from Brazil reached 7,241 tons, down 22.3%; from Cambodia, 6,212 tons, up 34.5%; and from Indonesia, 2,991 tons, up 67.3%.
In the domestic market, the pepper price on July 23, 2024, is about 148,000 VND/kg—150,000 VND/kg, which is up 3,000 VND/kg compared to yesterday. Transactions are not much due to limited supply.
The VPSA said that the rules for pepper prices this year are not the same as in previous years. The reason is that at this time there is a shortage of supply because Vietnam, the country supplying up to 50% of global consumption, has stopped the crop since March. Meanwhile, the harvest in Brazil has not yet come. Indonesia and Malaysia are in the main crop around July.
At the same time, in other pepper-producing countries such as India, Indonesia, and Brazil, the production is forecast to decrease. Particularly, the Brazilian market is facing drought and crop failure, and the price of pepper is about 50–100 USD/ton lower than in Vietnam. However, if Vietnam imports pepper at this price for export processing, enterprises will not be able to make a profit.