Thanks to the high prices and geographical registration, this kind of pepper is interested by farmers as well as investors across the country.
April 2020 marked 10 years of Kampot pepper (Cambodia) protected geographical indications by the Ministry of Commerce of Cambodia, according to The Phnom Penh Post.
Thanks to the high prices and geographical registration, this kind of pepper is interested by farmers as well as investors across the country.
But the uncertain market demand has led to lower prices of non-Kampot or Kep pepper (two provinces recognized as legal areas for Kampot pepper), which has made it difficult for people to look.
Data from KPPA (Association of Cambodian Pepper Promotion) shows that the membership of this association has increased to 455 compared to only 118 in 2010. The number of wooden stakes that farmers anchored to the ground for pepper to grow around The increase has been increased from 27,012 in 2010 to 727,317 in 2020.
The area of Kampot pepper has also increased from 1 hectare to 251 hectares in the Kampot and Kep areas only, and more than 100 tons of high quality pepper were produced last year.
Data also indicate that prices have increased significantly. In 2010, prices of black pepper, red pepper and white pepper were USD 5.75 / kg, USD 10 / kg and USD 12 / kg, respectively. In 2020, the price of pepper will increase to USD 15 / kg of black pepper, USD 25 / kg of red pepper and USD 28 / kg of white pepper.
KPPA chairman Nguon Lay said the prices had not changed in the past three years and he forecast prices would not fall due to the very high cost of producing the seed.
“If prices fall, a lot of growers will quit their jobs because of the high production costs, and not be able to meet the strict standards of goods with geographical indications,” he said.
He added that the KPPA producers place a higher price than those who do not belong to the association, however, they spend more on standard geographic indications.
However, the director of Pharma Product Manufacturing Co Ltd, Mr. Hay Ly Eang, said that products with geographical indications have much further development potential.
He said the Kampot pepper brand is still weak in the market and suffers from quality control issues. KPPA’s pepper selling price is lower than the retail price in the international market.
Dr. Ly Eang said that the price of Kampot pepper in France is about 180 USD / kg, while the price of farmers is only about 15 USD / kg.
He added that pepper prices in the international retail market should only fluctuate between 50 and 60 USD / kg, this will help improve sales and help farmers have more income.
Op Rady, Minister of Intellectual Property, said that Kampot pepper still has more potential than other unregistered pepper products.
He said the price of pepper is determined by the market. Lower prices from farmers and higher prices in the international retail market depend on business techniques, such as the quality of the packaging.
The price of pepper without geographical indications is generally greatly affected by the chaos of the current market, but Kampot pepper is still not affected much, indicating the market’s confidence in quality products. high quality.
Mr. Rady believes that farmers will comply with the geographical indications to serve the long-term purpose of the entire industry.
Independent agricultural economist Chan Sophal has invested in 5 hectares of pepper plantations in Mondulkiri province, where he has worked for 6 years. He started planting pepper because the price was 10 USD / kg at that time.
Even when the price of pepper decreased by about US $ 4 to US $ 5 / kg, he still made a profit. However, wholesale prices fell below US $ 2 / kg last week (May 17 – May 23).
Kampot pepper has been protected by the European Union EU geographical indications since 2016. This has helped the industry grow even more.
The output of this item in 2017 is 20,000 tons. Demand of the local market is 300 tons / year, while the rest is exported to the international market.
