At present, pepper gardens in Ba Ria – Vung Tau are in the stage of cultivating fruit to prepare for the harvest around mid-January 2025.
However, before that, due to the impact of adverse weather, pepper flowers dropped, so the fruit setting rate was low, and the risk of crop failure was high. Many farmers are worried because pepper prices are currently high, about 150,000 VND/kg, so profits will decrease sharply.
At this time, pepper gardens are in the process of growing fruit. Looking at the percentage of pepper bearing fruit on the tree, we can see that this year’s pepper crop output will decrease sharply. In Xuyen Moc district, many pepper gardens have lush, green leaves, but the fruit-bearing rate is very sparse. Mr. Tran Van Phap in Hamlet 1, Hoa Hung Commune, Xuyen Moc District, has a pepper garden with an area of 1.1 hectares and shared that if last year his family’s pepper garden earned more than 5 tons, this year the fruit-bearing rate is only reaching about 50% of output compared to last year’s crop.
According to Mr. Phap, when people were trying to get the tree to flower, they encountered intense, prolonged, dry weather that caused the tree to stop budging and not produce flowers. Trees that produce flowers will fall in large numbers, causing the fruit-bearing rate on the tree to be very low.
The 3-hectare pepper garden of Mr. Hoang Van Quan’s family in Hoa Hiep commune is also in a similar situation. Even though the family invested quite methodically and grew organically, the family’s pepper crop productivity still dropped sharply due to the adverse effects of the weather. Expected output is only about 6 tons of fruit, equal to 50% of last year’s output.
Meanwhile, pepper prices are at a high level, so crop failure makes farmers very sad. After many years of plummeting pepper, pepper gardens were neglected and received no investment in fertilization. Up to now, when pepper has a high price, growers focus on taking care of it but encounter adverse weather and crop failure – Mr. Quan regretfully shared.
In Chau Duc district, the province’s largest pepper growing area, many farmers also encounter a similar situation. The nearly 2-hectare pepper garden of Mr. Ho Van Thu, living in Binh Gia commune, Chau Duc district, also reduced productivity because of the weather. According to estimates, this pepper crop in Mr. Thu’s garden only reached 2.5 tons instead of 5 tons like the previous crop.
Mr. Thu said, pepper is a sensitive plant, as erratic as the weather, crop failure also often occurs. This year productivity is expected to decrease by more than 50%. Mr. Thu said that the cause is due to erratic changes in the weather. This year the rainy season came late, the weather was dry, hot, and low humidity, so it was not favorable for pepper flowering.
According to statistics from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the province’s pepper area is currently about 10,500 hectares. Although from the 2023 crop year, pepper prices begin to increase again, farmers have focused on investing and caring for pepper trees, but due to the influence of the weather, it is forecast that this pepper crop output will decrease sharply compared to with last year.
Currently, pepper growers in the area are focusing on taking care and preparing to harvest the new crop. Faced with the current fluctuations in the pepper market, the local agriculture industry recommends that people need to focus on taking care of healthy, suitable pepper gardens to stabilize production. Infected and dead pepper areas should not be replanted and should be switched to other suitable crops.
At the same time, growers need to grasp the market promptly to have an appropriate investment level. At the same time, continue to care for and prevent pests and diseases to ensure sustainable development of pepper plants in the following seasons. At the same time, people focus on participating in chains linked with businesses to produce clean, high-quality products that can be exported to demanding markets, enhancing the value of Ba Ria – Vung Tau pepper.
