The United States imported 33,728 tonnes of Vietnamese pepper worth US$135.23 million in the first eight months of the year, becoming the largest consumer of the Vietnamese product in the world, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

Nine other consumers of Vietnamese pepper in the reviewed period were the United Arab Emirates (UAE), India, Germany, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Thailand, Russia, the UK, and the Republic of Korea (RoK).

In August 2023, Vietnam shipped 20.140 tonnes of pepper worth US$75.34 million abroad, up 32% in volume and up 32.4% in value month on month.

Notably, pepper exports to markets such as the UAE, India, the Netherlands, the Philippines, and the RoK recorded two- or even three-digit growth in August compared to the same period last year. On the contrary, pepper exports to the US, Thailand, Russia, and UK markets decreased considerably.

Overall, the past eight months saw Vietnam export 188,000 tonens for US$615.5 million, up 17% in volume but down 13.8% in value. The average pepper export price fell 26.3% year on year to US$3,273 per tonne.

It is expected that Vietnam is likely to export between 240,000 and 250,000 tonnes of pepper this year, up 3-5% compared to last year.

VOV