The prices have also been escalating in the domestic market. On the first day of September, pepper was traded at VND144,000-146,000 per kilogram. The price levels were still far below the peak of VND180,000 per kilogram last June, but were still 80 percent higher than earlier this year and two times higher than the same period last year.

In the world market, according to IPC (International Pepper Community), in the latest trading session, Vietnam’s black pepper price was $6,100 per ton (500g/l), $6,500 per ton (550g/l), while white pepper was $8,800.

The latest report of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) showed that the average export price of pepper in the first eight months of the year reached $4,810 per ton, up 47 percent over the same period last year.

The price increases have been maintained since 2023 and the sharpest increases have been seen this year, from $4,000 per ton in January to $5,954 per ton in August.

The price escalation allowed Vietnamese enterprises to earn $891 million from the sale of 185,000 tons. The figures represented a slight decrease in export volume of 1.4 percent and a sharp increase in export value by 44.9 percent.

In August alone, pepper export volume rose by 9.7 percent and export value increased by 75.1 percent over the same period last year, because the average export price went up by 69.6 percent.

The US remained the biggest customer, spending $205.3 million to buy 43,170 tons of pepper from Vietnam. The pepper export to the market increased by 47.5 percent in quantity and 74.9 percent in value.

The other two large markets were Germany and UAE. Pepper exports to Germany were twice as much as the same period last year, while export value reached $57 million, up 152.5 percent. The figures were 40.2 percent and 113.9 percent, respectively, for UAE.

The total pepper exports in the last eight months exceeded the output of 170,000 tons of the 2024 crop. Meanwhile, inventory from last year carried forward to this year is estimated at 30 percent, or 50,000-55,000 tons. 

According to the Vietnam Pepper and Spices Association, global pepper trade dropped sharply in the first half of the year.

Of five largest pepper exporting countries, Indonesia and India saw export volumes increase by 48.3 percent and 34.1 percent, respectively.  Vietnam and Brazil, the two largest producers, saw export volumes decrease by 6.8 and 6 percent, respectively.