Reviving the pepper ‘kingdom’ in Gia Lai

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Once “black gold”

Pepper trees in Gia Lai once helped farmers’ lives prosper, leading to many prosperous residential areas. The two districts Chu Se and Chu Puh are known as the “Pepper Kingdom” because of the suitable climate and soil, so pepper grown here has the highest yield in the country with about 3 – 6 tons/ha.

In the years 2010 – 2012 and peaked in 2014 – 2015, pepper prices peaked at 200,000 – 250,000 VND/kg and were considered “black gold”. Chu Se pepper brand was born, becoming a major brand of Gia Lai when present in over 80 countries and territories.

Mr. Hoang Phuoc Binh, Standing Vice President of the Chu Se Pepper Association, recalled: “After the pepper harvest, farmers had billions of dong and were able to build houses and buy expensive furniture. It’s a common thing here for pepper billionaires to drive cars to visit gardens.”

That’s why people rush to plant pepper. The storm of pepper development in Gia Lai increased rapidly, going beyond the recommendations of the authorities on the process of selecting varieties, planting, and caring for them. According to the plan, by 2015, Gia Lai’s pepper area is 6,000 hectares and will maintain this area until 2020, but according to statistics by mid-2017, the pepper area in Gia Lai has reached 18,000 hectares, ranking behind Dak Nong. 30,000 hectares and Dak Lak 25,000 hectares.

The immediate billion-dollar profit has caused many farmers to rush to buy land and convert to growing pepper. Not only that, pepper varieties are bought freely, each person’s technique is different, chemical fertilizers and pesticides are poured into the garden with the ambition to quickly develop pepper and achieve the highest yield.

But the consequences of overheated growth quickly came. Pepper is suffering from a disease that cannot be cured. There are hectares of pepper gardens that are left standing after only half a month of illness. Along with drought and heavy rain from 2015 to 2019, many large pepper growing areas of Gia Lai faced disaster. From about 18,000 hectares, Gia Lai’s pepper area decreased by more than half. By 2020, pepper prices dropped to a record low, only 36,000 – 40,000 VND/kg.

There was a time when people sold pepper pillars at cheap prices

Households mortgaged their land and houses for bank loans, hoping to change their lives from “black gold” and eventually suffered the consequences. Each wooden pillar planted with pepper at its peak costs 80,000 – 140,000 VND and is uprooted by farmers to sell at a cheap price of 15,000 – 20,000 VND. Sadness spread quickly in the “Pepper Kingdom” like a nightmare. Luxurious villas are becoming deserted every day because many owners have to leave the country to do business far away, struggling to make money to pay off bank debt.

Mr. Hoang Phuoc Binh sighed: “There is no development that keeps progressing forever, it must have a levelness and problems that arise like a sinusoidal chart. The same goes for pepper!”.

Pepper reconstruction

Since the beginning of 2024, pepper prices have increased again. If at the end of May, pepper prices ranged from 115 – 117 million VND/ton, then by October 22, domestic pepper prices simultaneously increased by 500,000 to 1 million VND/ton in key growing areas, fluctuating from 144 – 145 million VND/ton. According to experts, this sudden increase only happened in one day because export enterprises lacked export goods in signed contracts, so there was a phenomenon of massive consolidation.

The International Pepper Community (IPC) informed that the price of Vietnamese black pepper exports is listed at 6,500 – 6,800 USD/ton, white pepper fluctuates around 9,500 USD/ton. Pepper exports are positive, bringing pepper back to Vietnam’s billion-dollar commodity. The Vietnam Pepper and Spice Association (VPSA) said that from the beginning of the year to October 15, Vietnam exported nearly 210 tons of pepper, worth 1.05 billion USD (down 1.9% in volume). but increasing 47% in value compared to the same period in 2023).

With prices rising again, many farmers in Gia Lai began to explore and replant pepper trees. But the old pain still haunts them, so currently they only plant in moderation or take advantage of replanting on old pepper pillars interspersed in coffee gardens.

Reviving the pepper 'kingdom' in Gia Lai - Photo 3.

Rebuilding pepper after the great disaster

Mr. Hoang Phuoc Binh said: “The increase in pepper prices is an opportunity to revive this crop with high economic value in the near future. We regularly propagate and mobilize people when planting new plants to be alert in choosing varieties and thoroughly apply scientific intensive farming measures to avoid risks. We also connect with purchasing businesses and fertilizer suppliers and people to build demonstration models of organic and clean pepper production for people to learn and apply to improve pepper production. high economic efficiency. This is a long-term direction, suitable to the needs of the export market.”

The plan of the People’s Committee of Gia Lai province is to develop and stabilize the pepper area of ​​about 10,000 hectares by 2030, promote the development of pepper production in an organic direction, applying high technology…

Mr. Tran Minh Trieu, Vice Chairman of Chu Se District People’s Committee, said that the pepper area reported at the end of July 2024 for the entire district was 1,132 hectares, a slight increase compared to a few years ago. The fact that people are returning to develop pepper areas in the district is a good sign, because this is one of the crops with high economic value, suitable for the local climate and soil conditions. direction.

“We recommend that people should not massively plant new trees, and should consult with experts to ensure the garden grows safely, stably, and avoids disease,” Mr. Trieu said.

According to Thanh Nien

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