Việt Nam does not face challenge from Cambodia pepper exports to China: experts

About 90-95 per cent of Cambodia's pepper output has been exported to Việt Nam. —  Photo nld.com.vn

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam's pepper exports are not challenged by Cambodia being issued a licence to export its pepper to China directly, according to experts.

The Việt Nam Trade Office in Cambodia quoted Khmer Times sources saying that Cambodian pepper would be available in China directly after the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) approved Cambodia’s export proposal.

Accordingly, the GACC approved seven packaging factories and 28 growing facilities for pepper exports in Cambodia.

Lê Việt Anh, head of the Việt Nam Pepper Association's office, Cambodia exporting pepper directly to China was not a challenge for Việt Nam's pepper exports immediately because the pepper volume exported from Cambodia to China was not much.

“About 90-95 per cent of Cambodia's pepper output have been exported to Việt Nam, then processors in Việt Nam have re-exported the volume to other countries, including China," said Anh. "Meanwhile, Cambodia has few trading companies, mainly FDI enterprises."

Hoàng Phước Bính, vice chairman of Chư Sê Pepper Association (Gia Lai), said this was normal. Cambodia's pepper had been mainly exported to Việt Nam and re-exported to China. The remaining 10-20 per cent had been shipped directly to China and Europe.

With this permission, the pepper volume exported directly from Cambodia to China could increase, Bính said.

Therefore, according to experts, it could increase competitive pressure on Vietnamese pepper exported to China in the future.

The Việt Nam Pepper Association said Cambodia had been the second largest pepper exporter to Việt Nam after Brazil. In the first four months of this year, Cambodia exported 1,715 tonnes of pepper to Việt Nam, down 64 per cent compared to the same period in 2022. However this was official export, not including several thousand tonnes of unofficial exports.

In the first quarter of 2023, China increased pepper imports from Indonesia, Malaysia and India. In contrast, China reduced pepper imports from Việt Nam. Việt Nam's pepper market share in China's total imports decreased from 39.36 per cent in the first quarter of 2022 to 29.75 per cent in the first quarter of 2023.

Regarding the reduction in Việt Nam's pepper exports to China, Bính said it was not a concern; Việt Nam had accounted for more than 50 per cent of the world's exports. The output of pepper in other markets, such as Cambodia and Malaysia, had been very small. So, China still had to import pepper mainly from Việt Nam.

China imports an average volume of about 50,000-60,000 tonnes of pepper from Việt Nam annually. The export volume of white pepper to this market will fluctuate occasionally.

In the first four months of 2023, China imported 35,000 tonnes of pepper from Việt Nam. In the next six months, Việt Nam will not have any difficulty exporting 20,000-25,000 tonnes of pepper, according to Bính.

The association estimates that Việt Nam's pepper output 2023 will increase by 5 per cent compared to 2022.

In 2022, Việt Nam exported more than 226,000 tonnes of pepper, earning nearly US$963 million, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.