Also in the “billion dollar” export group and in the “dominant” position on the world market in terms of output, but the pepper industry is facing the risk of oversupply due to spontaneous acreage increase.
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>> Reducing the area for sustainable pepper development
When “dominating” the output is also difficult
It is undeniable that the recent development of the pepper industry in Vietnam is quite impressive, with the changing flesh of a series of rural areas thanks to pepper cultivation. However, it seems that the development of too hot in area (increased by 3 times only from 2010-2017), but lack of attention and necessary investment for product quality … is causing both businesses (enterprises) and people to Pepper growing faces many risks.
Particularly in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, the report at the new pepper industry conference showed that the pepper planting area of the whole province was nearly twice as much as the plan. According to the plan, by 2020, the whole province will have about 7,000 ha of pepper, but it is estimated that the pepper area may reach 13,200 ha within the next 2 years.
Indeed, the area of pepper in Vietnam in 2017 was 152,000 hectares, an increase of 22.5% compared to 2016. In many other pepper growing regions in the world, the same phenomenon happened. The balance on the demand side made pepper prices in 2017 plummet from about 200,000 VND / kg to more than 60,000 VND / kg.
The shock of the record price decrease made Vietnam’s pepper exports increased by 20% in volume, but the turnover decreased by 22%.
According to the General Department of Customs, in the first quarter of 2018, the country exported more than 60,000 tons of pepper of all kinds with a turnover of more than $ 222 million. Compared to the same period in 2017, although the export volume increased by 18%, the turnover decreased by 31% due to the sharp plunge of pepper prices during the past year.
Fortunately, forecasts by the International Pepper Association (IPC) said that pepper prices this year, although difficult to recover, will not decrease as sharply as in 2017 because many countries no longer see great economic benefits from pepper. At current prices, it also discourages investment and development.
In 2018, Vietnam will still hold the leading position in the world in pepper export volume, equivalent to 2017, with about 180,000-200,000 tons. The estimate of turnover is still an unknown number …
Forecasts of this year’s situation for pepper farmers and producers are more optimistic than last year, but according to businesses and general analysis of the Vietnam Pepper Association (VPA), the shock of record price declines of 2017 are early warning signs that a spontaneous production has actually reached a risky threshold when supply exceeds demand. And above all, pepper is a spice commodity, not essential consumer goods or food, so the “rescue” of agricultural products will be difficult to promote as effectively as with many other items before …
The risk of “losing cows”, to worry about “building a barn”
According to the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Pepper Association, the link between the authorities, people and businesses is not yet tight, leading to spontaneous development of pepper growing areas; there is no clear trade promotion and promotion activities for pepper, the intellectual property of the geographical indication of pepper in Ba Ria-Vung Tau has not been exploited, not associated with the national pepper brand. … Along with that, the sharp drop in prices caused farmers to turn to hoarding goods and waiting for prices to rise. Therefore, purchasing activities of many enterprises are difficult.
But “the light at the end of the tunnel” has appeared when pepper areas are closely linked with farmers, with international quality standards, meeting the requirements of exporting to difficult markets. Although it only accounts for about 10% of the total area of pepper in the whole province, but clearly, both enterprises and a part of farmers are becoming more aware when it is time to change their farming practices and quit the race. growth in acreage and output.
Ms. Tran Phuoc Hau, Assistant to General Director of Tran Chau Import Export Service and Trading Joint Stock Company, said that last year, this enterprise was continuously pressed by buyers and technical barriers in major markets of Vietnamese pepper. was also lifted. Part of the difficulty of pepper exports lies in the risk of oversupply. “To focus on improving the quality of pepper, since 2017, we have built a plan for sustainable pepper production and found new markets in Eastern Europe”, Ms. Hau shared.
In that movement, it seems that FDI enterprises have been one step faster. General Director of Nedspice Spice Processing Co., Ltd. (Dutch enterprise), Mr. Willem Van Walt Meijer information: Cooperated with 1,600 farmers in Binh Phuoc for nearly 7 years with the first goal of ensuring traceability of products to each farmer. Where there is no quality product, the enterprise will have an agricultural extension team to assist in adjusting the cultivation, harvesting and preservation process; There is even a policy to reward farmers with good products.
“The only solution for Vietnamese pepper now is to improve quality. More and more Japanese customers come to us and are willing to pay high prices for their satisfactory products ”, said Mr. Willem Van Walt Meijer.
Last year 2017 was also the year when the abuse of pesticides on pepper probably decreased significantly when importing countries never had to issue warnings about pesticide residues on pepper from Vietnam.
In addition to the low price, farmers do not want to spend additional costs on fertilizers, partly because pepper growers have better grasping techniques and understanding more about global market trends. when integrating.
According to the Phuong Hien (Chinhphu.vn)
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