From 2001 until now, Vietnam has always held the No. 1 position in the world in producing and exporting pepper. However, in recent years, farmers are crying, hugging billions of dollars because the item used to be considered a “black gold” depreciated.
Sadness sold a lot, a little money collected
According to the Vietnam Pepper Association, from 2001 until now, Vietnam has always held the No. 1 position in the world in producing and exporting pepper. Specifically, in 2001, the export volume reached 56,509 tons, accounting for 28.3% of the market share. By 2010, the export figure reached 116,861 tons and this proportion increased to 43.4%. In 2019, pepper exports will reach about 284,000 tons and account for nearly 70% of the world pepper export market.
However, data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shows that, after reaching a record turnover in 2016 with US $ 1.42 billion, the export value of pepper began to go down. Specifically, in 2017, the export of this product was only US $ 1.11 billion; in 2018, it was reduced to 758.8 million USD.
By the end of 2019, although the export volume of pepper increased by 23.4%, the value was only US $ 715 million, down 5.7% compared to 2018.
| When pepper prices worldwide, this item is considered “black gold” by farmers |
Although the volume of exports has increased steadily, 2019 is the second consecutive year that Vietnam's strength goods have slipped from the billion dollar mark. Notably, the average export price of pepper in our country is estimated at 2,516 USD / ton, down to 23.6% compared to 2018.
Up to now, despite holding the hegemony, exporting to 105 countries and territories around the world, but the pepper is suffering more and more sales and the revenue is getting less and less.
Nguyen Nam Hai, chairman of the Pepper Association, explained that the fall in prices was mainly due to an imbalance between supply and demand.
Remember 2013-2014 pepper prices peaked, about 230,000 VND / kg, local farmers massively expanded pepper area. Pepper was then considered the “black gold” item of farmers. Therefore, this plant is grown in both areas that do not meet the soil and climate conditions in the hope of achieving high value.
Vietnam's pepper area thus increased rapidly. If in 2001, the whole country had only 35.3 thousand hectares; increased by 51.5 thousand hectares in 2010, but by 2017 it was three times higher, to nearly 152 thousand hectares. Since 2018, the area of pepper has shown signs of decreasing but still about 140 thousand hectares.
Deputy Director of Gia Lai Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Ngoc An acknowledged that Gia Lai's plan of growing pepper in 2020 is only 6,000 ha. However, at its peak, the area of pepper cultivation in the province reached 16,300 ha. When the price is good, despite planning and recommendations, people still rush to do it.
In addition, the Import-Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) said that in Vietnam, the quality of a part of pepper is affected by excessive use of chemicals and pesticides, so prices are lower than some. Other countries. Therefore, in the past 2 years, Brazil, India, Indonesia have become competitors with Vietnam in terms of output and quality. Most interested is Brazilian pepper when 80% of the sale reaches organic standards, while Vietnamese pepper is still mainly exported.
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| But because of the massive expansion of the area, the oversupply of pepper, the pepper price in the Central Highlands began to die. |
Hug the dream to get rich and then default on billions of dollars
The forecast of global pepper supply is still plentiful and the demand of countries has not shown signs of strong growth, the days of sinking in the crisis of price reduction of pepper farmers may not be over.
In the days before Tet, instead of the bustling atmosphere like other countryside, going deep into the “core” of growing pepper in Chu Pus district (Gia Lai) will find the gloomy atmosphere covering the houses only. And all the children and the elderly. Reading the road, it is not difficult to see “semi-land” signs affixed to many well-closed houses. The old green pepper gardens have now turned into “target graveyards”.
“Farmers of Se Se and Chu Puh are richer because of pepper consumption, their losses are also due to consumption,” said Vice President and General Secretary of Pepper Association Chu Hoang Hoang Binh Binh.
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| Some farmers try to convert crops to maintain their lives |
Sitting in a house with no valuable furniture, Ms. Dao Thi Binh (the character's name has been changed) – a household in Hoa Binh village, Nhon Hoa town, Chu Puh district confided about 5 years ago , her family borrowed 1 billion VND to grow pepper and wanted to change their life because the pepper was high. However, pepper is falling. More than 5,000 standard pepper posts are dead, and more than 1,000 posts on the field are also dying.
“For about 2 years, my family did not have enough money to pay interest on the bank. Even money to eat is not enough. My husband has to work far away from home, his eldest son has to quit school because his family has no money ”, Ms. Binh lamented.
Do not hug the debt of billions, but the debt of 300 million also makes Mr. Vo Hoai Nhon in Hoa Binh village (Nhon Hoa, Chu Pu district) stood restless. Mr. Nhon's family was in exhausted condition because of pepper, so for over a year, he had to hang a sign of “selling land”.
In Nhon Hoa town, messages and phone calls from bank officials about debt are always an obsession for many pepper farmers.
Similarly, Mr. Nguyen Van Tam of Phu An village, Ia hrú commune (Chu Puh) said that the whole village has about 200 households, almost all households grow pepper. The more you do it, the bigger the debt. His house is owed 750 million dong.
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| Many farmers embrace billions of debt because they have to spend money to sell houses and work as hired labor to pay debts |
“In the past, people of Chu Puh district got rich because of pepper, but now they are poor because of pepper. Many people have to leave the country to work as hired laborers to pay off bank loans and interests, ”Mr. Tam shared.
At a seminar on pepper industry development in mid-2019, according to the statistics of Gia Lai People's Committee, at that time, the total outstanding debt that the people of the province borrowed for pepper cultivation was over 4,300 billion VND with more than 26,000 households. loans, of which about VND 2,600 billion are overdue debts, particularly bad debts are more than VND 450 billion.
Gia Lai is also the province with the largest area of pepper killed by disease. While this figure in Dak Lak is 2,210ha on the total area of the province 38,616 ha; In Dak Nong, the area of dead pepper was 1,827 ha / 34,113 ha.
Mr. Hoang Phuoc Binh said that the Association advised people to stop growing pepper and to change production models; In the next three years, consider planting a new crop because the price of pepper will improve. The Association wants the State to have solutions to support people to overcome this difficult period. At the same time, research to diversify crops for people to choose, rest assured production.
According to VietnamNet
