Pepper price today 23/3, slightly down, positive outlook, pepper growers bet on price momentum

Pepper price today 23/3, slightly down, positive outlook, pepper growers bet on price momentum. (Source: ElmarSpices)

Pepper price today at market in the country decreased slightly in some localities, trading from 78,000 to 80,500 VND/kg.

Specifically, today’s pepper price in Dong Nai is the lowest in the market at 78,000 VND/kg.

Today’s pepper price in Gia Lai provinces (78,500 VND/kg); Dak Nong, Dak Lak (79,500 VND/kg); Binh Phuoc (79,500 VND/kg) and Ba Ria – Vung Tau at the highest threshold is 80,500 VND/kg.

According to preliminary statistics of the Vietnam Pepper Association (VPA), in the first 16 days of March 2022, Vietnam exported 12,156 tons, with a turnover of 56.8 million USD. Exports in the first 2.5 months of the year reached 41,197 tons, down 6.66% in volume but up 39.12% in value over the same period last year.

The average export price of pepper in the period reached US$ 4,666/ton, up 2.62% compared to the average export price of February 2022.

The prospect of pepper demand in 2022 is relatively positive when countries around the world have partially coped with the Covid-19 epidemic, reopened restaurants and eateries… pepper seasoning increased again.

Demand for pepper in the US in recent years has been high and tends to increase despite the negative impact of the pandemic. Meanwhile, Vietnam’s pepper is increasingly popular in the US with a higher import volume next year than last year.

As for the European Union (EU), from January 26, 2022, this bloc will begin to apply new regulations for pepper imported from Brazil. In addition to the requirement for an inspection certificate of all consignments stating the absence of salmonella, the EU will increase the probability of testing imported consignments by 50% for salmonella.

This can be considered as another advantage of Vietnamese pepper compared to competitors in the EU besides the advantages from the EVFTA Agreement. In fact, in the first two months of this year, countries in the EU have also increased their pepper imports from Vietnam and significantly reduced imports from Brazil.

As for China, this market is still a mystery and depends a lot on China’s Covid-19 epidemic control policies.

In terms of prices, after a strong increase in the first half of February, pepper prices have turned down and moved sideways from the second half of February until now.

As of March 20, the domestic price of black pepper fluctuated at 78,500 – 81,000 VND/kg, down 5,000 – 5,500 VND/kg compared to mid-February but still higher than the price of 76,000 – 79,500 VND/kg of the same period last year.

However, unlike previous years, this year pepper growers only sold a small amount enough to cover temporary costs and prioritized retention, expecting the price cycle to increase further. This year’s harvest is expected to end in mid-April.

This year, in general, the harvest situation is difficult due to the lack of workers to collect and the high labor costs compared to every year. In addition, the cost of raw materials and input fuels such as fertilizers and gasoline has increased, making profits decrease and the investment problem for the next crop is still open.

Meanwhile, the fact that people tend to hold back goods waiting for prices to increase also makes it difficult for businesses to be proactive about raw materials. Exports also face many difficulties and challenges when the cost of input materials for production increases, international shipping fees continue to increase, affecting the profits of enterprises.

According to the results of a recent survey by the Vietnam Pepper Association (VPA), the country’s pepper output this year may decrease by 10%. However, the inventories of previous years are still high, concentrated in households and agents with strong economic potential.

The majority of surveyed households think that they will store new pepper crops, only selling when they have spending needs and expect prices to increase.