In the first half of June, the price of Vietnamese pepper increased dramatically, reaching a peak of 180,000 VND/kg on June 12. Immediately after that, the price of this commodity, considered as “black gold” of Vietnam, plummeted.

Recently, pepper prices have regained momentum, currently trading around 156,000-162,000 VND/kg.

In contrast to domestic pepper prices, the export price of this commodity in our country is still on a strong upward trend. Specifically, the price of 500g/l black pepper increased to 7,800 USD/ton, 550g/l increased to 8,000 USD/ton. In particular, the price of white pepper in our country increased to 12,000 USD/ton, setting a new historical peak.

Accordingly, the price of Vietnamese black pepper is higher than that of Indonesia, Malaysia and Brazil by 1,582 USD/ton, 3,100 USD/ton and 400 USD/ton, respectively.

Similarly, Vietnam's white pepper is 3,623 USD/ton higher than the same type from Indonesia and 4,700 USD/ton higher than that from Malaysia.

Compared to the beginning of this year, our country's black pepper export price has increased by 100% and white pepper has increased by 110.5%.

So, how many tons of "black gold" does our country have left to export in the remaining months of this year?

According to the Vietnam Pepper and Spice Association (VPSA), Vietnam's pepper output in 2024 is estimated to decrease by 10% compared to 2023, to only about 170,000 tons - the lowest level in the past 5 years.

Meanwhile, statistics from the General Department of Customs show that by the end of May 2024, Vietnam had exported nearly 110,000 tons of pepper of all kinds, earning 469 million USD. Compared to the same period last year, pepper exports decreased by 16.8% in volume but increased by 15.4% in value.

If not counting the inventory carried over from last year, our country still has about 60,000 tons of pepper to export in the remaining months of the year.

Ms. Hoang Thi Lien - President of VPSA - said that pepper is still available among the people, but instead of selling it en masse, people are selling it in small quantities to wait and see when the price of this commodity is on the rise.

For example, at the end of May, pepper prices were at 140,000 VND/kg. However, after only 10 days in June, pepper prices reached 180,000 VND/kg. According to Ms. Lien, pepper prices will cool down in the short term but it is difficult to return to the old price.

As for businesses, Ms. Lien informed, they are facing a difficult situation of trading and selling. Because the amount of goods sold on the market is not abundant, while businesses have signed contracts in advance with fixed prices and now the prices have increased too high, they still cannot buy the goods.

According to a pepper exporting enterprise, this year's harvest season ended in April. Pepper growing areas are increasingly shrinking as farmers switch crops. Meanwhile, the pepper supply on the global market is nearly 100,000 tons short of demand.

Supply is scarce, while countries are increasing imports, especially China, which is expected to increase its purchase of pepper because of low inventories. In fact, in May, our country's pepper exports to the Chinese market reached 3,137 tons, 4.8 times higher than the previous month and the highest level in the past 11 months.

Therefore, in the coming time, pepper prices will increase again not only in Vietnam but also globally, he said.

The second 'black gold' fever in history: Vietnam has the world's largest warehouse . Countries are buying 2-3 times more goods, pushing 'black gold' into the second price fever in history. Vietnam is holding the world's largest warehouse, prices are skyrocketing.