The profit of pepper is about 2,000 USD/hectare, while that of durian is more than 40,000 USD. This causes a lot of pepper destruction to grow durian, potentially greatly affecting the supply of this spice.
The above comment was made by Ms. Hoang Thi Lien – president of the Vietnam Pepper and Spice Association (VPSA) – at the annual conference of the public-private partnership (PPP) working group on pepper and spices in 2019. 2023, taking place on November 23.
According to Ms. Lien, Vietnam is a large spice producer and exporter in the world, accounting for 11% of the global market share by 2022, with the leading producer and exporter of pepper and cinnamon.
However, pepper area and output are decreasing, in 2020 the area will be more than 130,000 hectares, in 2023 it will be 120,000 hectares, the output will reach 190,000 tons.
Currently, the profit of durian is 20 times higher than that of pepper. Therefore, it is predicted that the area of pepper will further decrease because farmers are massively cutting it down to switch to growing durian.
“If deforestation occurs strongly, it is likely that businesses will have to increase imports from Cambodia, Brazil… The increase in imports will make the domestic pepper industry unstable and risky due to not being able to proactively produce and difficult to control. quality, thereby greatly affecting exports“, Ms. Lien commented.
Even according to Mr. Hoang Phuoc Binh – vice president of Chu Se Pepper Association (Gia Lai), under the impact of disease factors, converting to other crops, especially durian, the pepper area can decrease. has decreased sharply.
“Vietnam’s pepper area may only be about 60,000 – 70,000 hectares, half the number announced in 2021. With the current prolonged low pepper prices, the area will further decrease, dragging down output. decrease accordingly“, Mr. Binh is concerned.
To limit this situation, Ms. Lien said the association has worked with many businesses to link with pepper farmers in a sustainable, disease-free way. With this trend, pepper will be less susceptible to epidemics and the selling price will also be higher.
According to NGUYEN TRI (Tuoi Tre newspaper)
