On December 4, in Ho Chi Minh City, the International Pepper Conference – VIPO 2018 was held by the Vietnam Pepper Association (VPA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the International Pepper Association (VIP). IPC), European Spice Association (ESA), American Spice Trade Association (ASTA)… organized.
Delegates attending the Vietnam International Pepper Industry Conference – VIPO 2018
Attending the conference were Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh.
The conference attracted more than 200 delegates including traders, importers and exporters, government agencies, financial companies, NGOs, spice associations… interested in pepper products. from Vietnam and around the world.
According to Mr. Nguyen Nam Hai – President of VPA, VIPO 2018 helps parties meet, exchange discussions, dialogue, discuss, share information and cooperate in the field of pepper. The content of VIPO 2018 focuses on assessing the situation of pepper supply and demand in 2018 and the prospect of Vietnam’s pepper industry, identifying factors that may affect pepper production and trade in 2019 and in the future. future. The conference also informed about efforts in improving the quality of Vietnam’s pepper in recent years.
Speaking at the conference, Minister Nguyen Xuan Cuong said that VIPO 2018 takes place in a very special context: There are no agricultural products with a total global area of only about 460,000 hectares, total output less than half a million ton; concentrated production in 5 countries accounting for 90% of the global pepper area; at the same time there is an international association, … in fact, administration should be very easy.
However, in the past 3 years, pepper prices have continuously dropped, making farmers and chain participants both passive and risky. One of the important reasons leading to this situation is that the area and output of pepper in the past few years have been continuously increasing, supply – demand is not balanced (within 5-7 years, the area of pepper has increased 3 times). ).
Therefore, the Minister recommended, for sustainable development, to drastically restructure the pepper industry. First of all, it is necessary to reduce the area of pepper in areas grown against the law, with low yield and quality to make room for other crops. The Vietnamese government advocates taking quality as a development criterion, requiring all relevant agencies and Vietnamese farmers to drastically implement. From the stage of management, the process of cultivation, harvesting, processing … must take food hygiene and safety as the top criterion, in which a part is committed to developing organic pepper. The Prime Minister has issued a Resolution on organic agricultural products, in the coming time, Vietnam will issue the Law on Organic Agriculture to show Vietnam’s determination to reduce chemicals in agricultural products.
In addition, the Minister also suggested the International Pepper Association, the International Spice Association, as well as the pepper producing and trading countries to conduct in-depth research to produce more high-value products from pepper. such as perfumes, essential oils, preparations for many kinds of goods… to create diverse added value for this item.
“The State of Vietnam will accompany in the pepper product development program that is most suitable with international practices and the WTO, how can we build this industry together to develop sustainably and bring benefits to workers?” genuine action, benefits for participants in the pepper industry chain. On a global scale, Vietnam is actively integrating, strictly implementing the agreements of integration and producing Vietnamese agricultural products will comply with those requirements, “said the Minister.
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