Domestic coffee prices continuously set new records and are about to approach VNĐ100,000 (about $4) per kg. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The prices of Vietnamese coffee and pepper are forecast to continue increasing due to limited supply while the export of these products has also enjoyed relative growth, according to insiders.

Domestic coffee prices continuously set new records and are about to approach VNĐ100,000 (about US$4) per kg. Currently, the average purchase price of coffee in Central Highlands provinces is VNĐ98,600 per kg.

Việt Nam shipped nearly 600,000 tonnes of coffee abroad in the first quarter of this year, earning $1.9 billion, up only 3 per cent in volume but up 54 per cent in value year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Coffee is the second biggest export turnover earner among agricultural products, just behind wood products. It is attributable to the fact that coffee prices have increased by 43.5 per cent over the same period last year and reached an average of $3,181 per tonne.

Export coffee prices have increased, but there’s not much coffee left in stock. According to the Vietnam Coffee-Cocoa Association (Vicofa), Việt Nam’s coffee production for the 2023-24 crop will decline by 20 per cent compared to the previous crop, to more than 1.33 million tonnes.

Regarding pepper, preliminary statistics of the Vietnam Pepper and Spice Association (VPSA) showed that Vietnam exported 12,368 tonnes of pepper worth $53 million in the first 16 days of March.

Export prices averaged $4,022 per tonne during January - February, up 28.7 per cent from the same period last year. In March, prices of domestic pepper increased VNĐ500 - VNĐ2,000 per kg.

VPSA Chairwoman Hoàng Thị Liên attributed the surge of pepper prices to low inventories and strong demand in the US market in the last three months of 2023. The late harvest season in Đắk Nông Province was also a problem, she said, adding that a temporary shortage of supply led to an increase in domestic prices.

Currently, many localities are accelerating pepper harvesting in the 2023-24 crop but farmers are delaying their sales with expectations of higher prices, she added.

Echoing her opinion, Nguyễn Thị Thanh Huyền, Deputy Director of Prosi Thăng Long Company, said that pepper exports have recorded strong growth since 2023.

Domestic pepper prices have also increased since December last year and many farmers and businesses expected that the export of pepper will thrive in 2024, she noted. — VNS