Pepper price today June 3, 2023, planting area in Dong Nai decreased by nearly 50% compared to the golden age; growers may 'miss the price wave'

Pepper prices today in the domestic market remained stable in some key localities, trading from 72,500 - 75,500 VND/kg.

Pepper price today June 3, 2023, planting area in Dong Nai decreased by nearly 50% compared to the golden age; growers may 'miss the price wave'. (Source: The Kitchen)

Pepper prices today in the domestic market remained stable in some key localities, trading from 72,500 - 75,500 VND/kg.

Specifically, today's pepper price in Gia Lai is the lowest in the market at 72,500 VND/kg.

Pepper prices today in Dong Nai province (73,000 VND/kg); Dak Nong, Dak Lak (74,000 VND/kg); Binh Phuoc (75,000 VND/kg) and Ba Ria - Vung Tau are at the highest level of 75,500 VND/kg.

In the world market, at the end of the most recent trading session, the International Pepper Community (IPC) listed the price of Vietnamese black pepper at 3,500 USD/ton for 500 g/l, 3,600 USD/ton for 550 g/l; the price of white pepper at 5,000 USD/ton.

The domestic market has been sideways in recent days amid continued high coffee prices.

Director of Xuan Tho Pepper Cooperative (Xuan Tho Commune, Xuan Loc District, Dong Nai Province) Tran Huu Thang compared that in the past, farmers harvested 6-7 tons of pepper/ha, but now each garden only achieves 3-4 tons/ha. Old pepper gardens have much lower productivity, so even if the pepper price increases, it is not attractive enough for growers.

According to Mr. Thang, in the past, many pepper gardens that were 20 years old still had high productivity, but now many gardens have become old after only a few years of harvest. One reason is that when pepper prices were high, farmers rushed to invest and grow pepper on unsuitable land, so pepper gardens quickly withered.

By the end of 2022, the pepper growing area in Dong Nai province will be only about 10.7 thousand hectares, a decrease of nearly 50% compared to the golden age of this crop. Not only has the area decreased sharply, the productivity of this crop is also getting worse.

According to the Vietnam Pepper and Spices Association (VPSA), pepper output in the 2022-2023 crop year is forecast to increase by 10% to about 200,000 tons thanks to favorable weather factors.

However, in some localities, there is a trend of cutting down pepper trees to switch to other fruit trees with higher income, especially durian.

The association believes that if the practice of cutting down pepper to switch to fruit tree planting continues, there may be a shortage of supply in the next three years.

Besides, VPSA believes that if Vietnam's pepper output decreases sharply due to the strong wave of crop conversion, farmers may "miss the wave" of pepper prices.

Because when cutting down pepper trees, growers will need to spend three years to reinvest and the profit is zero, and it is not until the fourth year that they can start harvesting.

In case pepper prices increase again due to supply shortage, it will take a long time for farmers to harvest and benefit from new gardens. At that time, pepper growers will become latecomers.

Specifically, farmers will have to spend a total of 6 years, including 3 years of planting and 3 years of price increase, and pepper prices are expected to peak at that time. Meanwhile, durian trees, although giving much better profits than pepper trees, can earn 1 billion per hectare, but it also takes time for the trees to grow.

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