Vietnam pips India as top pepper exporter

Pepper exports from Vietnam were more than five times that by India during the January-November period of the current year.

Cumulative figures show Vietnam exported 115,130 tonnes of pepper, comprising 97,454 tonnes of black pepper and 17,676 tonnes of white pepper. The total turnover was $667 million. India exported just 20,600 tonnes during the same period and the value realisation was $101 million.

Though India has been exporting for 1,000 years, Vietnam started exporting only in the 1990s. In comparison with the same period in 2010, Vietnam’s export fell 4.2 per cent in volume (4,638 tonnes), but rose 71 per cent in value ($277 million), according to data from the country.

India was the world’s largest pepper exporter till the 90s. In just 10 years, India has been pushed to the second spot after Vietnam and is now nowhere in comparison in production and exports.

Vietnam produces 110,000 tonnes yearly, while India’s production is around 45,000 tonnes. Vietnam, the world’s-largest expo-rter of the spice, shipped to 90 countries. The leading pepper importer is the US, with 19 per cent of total exports being shipped there.