Vietnam: Pepper exports likely to hit high $780m

HA NOI — Viet Nam this year can earn up to US$780 million from its pepper exports if the price of pepper remains at a high of more than US$7,000 per tonne, said the Viet Nam Pepper Association (VPA).

The total pepper export volume would reach between 110,000 and 115,000 tonnes, according to the VPA.

In case world pepper prices fall from July's high, pepper farmers have the choice of keeping their harvested pepper in stock to wait for prices to rise again.

As a result of this, the VPA has warned pepper enterprises that they need to act with caution when deciding on purchase prices or the signing any import and export contracts to avoid risks.

The wholesale price of pepper at key pepper growing areas in the Central Highlands and southeast region is currently between VND123,000 and VND125,000 per kilo, an increase of VND18,000-20,000 per kilo (about US80 cents - 90 cents) against the same period last year.

Pepper buying and selling activities in the domestic market were recently sluggish due to price fluctuations that saw some Vietnamese businesses buying Indonesian pepper for re-export.

During the past six and a half months, Viet Nam shipped more than 72,000 tonnes of pepper abroad, earning about $495 million.

Viet Nam continues to be one of the world's leading pepper exporters, accounting for 40 – 50 per cent of the global volume. —VNS

Source: http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/Economy/228709/pepper-exports-likely-to-hit-high-780m.html