A farmer in Lâm Đồng Province harvests pepper for export. — VNA/VNS Photo

LÂM ĐỒNG — Farmers in Lâm Đồng Province are entering the pepper harvest season and earning high profits despite declining yield.

Pepper prices this year are much higher than last season, but output has fallen due to unfavourable weather, according to local farmers.

Lê Huy Bình, who owns a 2ha farm where pepper is intercropped with coffee in Nhân Cơ Commune, harvested about 2.5 tonnes of dried pepper this season.

At the current market price of around VNĐ150,000 (US$5.8) per kilogramme, his family earns a profit of nearly VNĐ200 million ($7,700).

“From the start of the season, pepper prices this year have been much higher than last year, so farmers are very happy. However, because output has fallen and labour is scarce, many farmers are less cheerful,” Bình said.

Yields and output this year are only about 70 – 80 per cent of the previous season, he said.

Besides lower yields, farmers said they are also facing heavy pressure from harvesting costs, as workers tend to avoid gardens with low output.

Lê Thị Hương, a pepper farmer in Đức An Commune, said: “Many farms have to pay workers VNĐ5,000–6,000 (19–23 US cents) for each kilogramme of pepper that they harvest, about 1.5 times higher than last season,” she said.

Pepper is highly sensitive to weather, making yields hard to predict, she said, adding that just one unseasonal rain during flowering, or a prolonged heatwave and lack of water for about a week, can cause output to fall sharply, sometimes to only 50 per cent of normal levels.

Many farmers have shifted towards clean, sustainable farming that meets export standards to maintain long-term economic efficiency.

Nguyễn Thị Lệ Hà in Bắc Gia Nghĩa Ward owns a 10ha pepper farm under organic processes and international safe agriculture standards.

She said the vines do not have many fruits this year, with output down by about one-third due to the strong impact of climate change, especially unseasonal rain and strong winds during flowering and fruit setting.

Her farm’s output is estimated at around 15 – 17 tonnes this season.

With prices at around VNĐ150,000 000 ($5.8) per kilogramme in recent months, pepper growers are still making a profit, she said.

“Our family’s pepper is always sold at a premium compared to the market because it meets international safe agriculture standards and is exported through a major company,” she said.

However, meeting import partners’ requirements is a long process that demands consistent production, certification, clear traceability and third-party recognition, she said.

The province currently has more than 37,000ha of pepper, the largest area nationwide.  

Total pepper output reached over 85,000 tonnes last year, with an average yield of about 2.3 tonnes per hectare.

This year total output is expected to reach around 95,000 tonnes, an increase of about 10,000 tonnes from the previous season, as many newly planted areas aged three to four years begin harvesting, despite declining yields in some areas, according to the province Department of Agriculture and Environment.

To improve economic efficiency and promote sustainable pepper development, the department is encouraging farmers, co-operatives and businesses to expand clean farming models, growing pepper under Vietnamese and global good agricultural practices (VietGAP and GlobalGAP), organic and ecological standards.

The province is strengthening the management of growing area codes, improving pest monitoring and forecasting capacity, and tightening control over agricultural inputs, thereby enhancing product quality to meet increasingly strict export market requirements. — VNS