According to preliminary statistics released by the Vietnam Pepper and Spice Association (VPSA), June alone saw the country imported 1,950 tonnes of the item. Of the total black peppers reached 1,134 tonnes, white peppers hit 816 tonnes, whilst total import turnover grossed US$8.5 million, a drop of 48.5% compared to last month.
Vietnamese imports from Indonesia surged by 45.1% to 946 tonnes, while imports from Cambodia decreased by 71.9% to 537 tonnes and imports from Brazil drop by 86.2% to 135 tonnes. Imports of businesses in the VPSA fell by 66.5%, accounting for 44.2%.
From January 1 to June 30, the country imported 18,002 tonnes of pepper of all kinds with a total import turnover of US$69.6 million, up by 18.9 million on-year.
The three major pepper suppliers to the Vietnamese market include Brazil with 7,241 tonnes, down 22.3%; Cambodia with 6,212 tonnes, an increase of 34.5%; and Indonesia with 2,991 tonnes, a rise of 67.3%.
According to the VPSA, by the end of June, the nation had exported 142,586 tonnes of pepper of all kinds, of which black pepper reached 125,959 tonnes and white pepper stood at 16,627 tonnes. The total export turnover reached more than US$634 million, down 6.8%, although export turnover soared by 30.5%.
In line with this, the first half of the year saw the total trade surplus hit US$564.6 million.
Global pepper prices are higher than domestic pepper prices, which is said to be the reason why pepper imports from markets endured a decrease during the same period.
