Pepper prices this year are unlikely to recover after a strong reduction in 2019 due to abundant supply.

Pepper prices this year are unlikely to recover after a strong reduction in 2019 due to abundant supply.

Việt Nam’s pepper output this year would reach around 200,000 tonnes, according to the International Pepper Community

Chư Pưh District of Gia Lai Province has recently traded its reputation as a pepper-growing capital of the Central Highlands for a very different moniker: “the land of debt”.

Pepper growers in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai are facing debt as the price of black pepper has plunged in recent years.

Việt Nam's pepper farmers are on pins and needles as pepper prices continue to decline. The industry, once known for its high profit margins, is in crisis due to unsustainable development, lack of strict control over production and unforeseeable speculation. 

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has not discovered price manipulation from foreign traders in the pepper market following Việt Nam’s Pepper Association (VPA)’s blame.

Within the last ten days, pepper price has fallen from an already low VNĐ82,000 (US$3.65) to VNĐ72,000 ($3.21) per kilogramme, much to the chagrin of pepper farmers in Central Highlands provinces; yet they seem unfazed and continue to hold out for higher prices.

Industry leaders have called on distraught and anxious pepper farmers to remain calm and refrain from selling their produce at low prices, saying the current price plunge is most likely a fleeting phenomenon.