Viet Nam exported 17,000 tonnes of pepper worth US$52 million in export turnover in the first two months of the year, an increase of 10 per cent in volume and 33 per cent in value over the same period last year.
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A farmer picks pepper at Cam Lo District, central Quang Tri Province. Viet Nam exported $52 million worth of pepper during the first two months of this year
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Over 7,000 tonnes worth $23.5 million were exported in January and the figure jumped to more than 9,000 tonnes or $28 million in February.
In January, the US and Germany were the biggest consumer markets for Vietnamese pepper. The US accounted for $3.8 million and Germany $3.51million of the total export turnover.
The Viet Nam Market Forecast and Analysis Joint Stock Company (Agromonitor) said that Viet Nam's pepper export sector is well placed to take advantage of inflated prices which are approaching $3,000 per tonne, due to increased demand.
In addition, this year, the world pepper market could be faced with a shortage in supply, leading to an increase in demand, according to Agromonitor. As a result, the price of pepper is forecast to continue to increase, promising high revenue for domestic pepper exporters.
The Viet Nam Pepper Association (VPA) said that this year, Viet Nam's total pepper output would hit 100,000 tonnes.
The association recommended that domestic enterprises continue to try and increase the amount of white pepper they export, given the fact it is worth 30 per cent more than black pepper. In previous years, white pepper has accounted for only 20 per cent of the nation's total pepper exports.
In 2009, the country exported 135,000 tonnes of pepper worth $347 million, an increase of 49 per cent in volume and 11.46 per cent in value over 2008./.