Black pepper exports to US surge by 80%

Black pepper exports from India to the US has increased by 80.12 per cent to 4,395 tonne, compared with 2,440 tonne exported in the same period in 2005.

The total US imports of black pepper has shown an increase of 4.84 per cent compared to 35,764 tonne imported during the same period last year.

Vietnam continued to be the main supplier, shipping 15,108 tonne followed by Indonesia supplying 8,541 tonne and Brazil with 8,317 tonne.

A subsidy scheme introduced in November 2005 has helped in boosting Indian exports to the US. An ocean freight subsidy of Rs 5 per kg for the exports has helped the exporters to compete with other pepper producing countries like Vietnam on the price front.

According to a leading exporter of pepper products based in Kochi, Indian exporters took advantage of this subsidy scheme especially during July"�September 2006. According to latest reports of International Pepper Community, India is still the largest exporter of ground pepper to the US.

The US imported 5,359 tonne of ground pepper during January - September, an increase of 3.70 per cent when compared to imports for the same period last year, which was reported to be 5,168 tonne.

Other main suppliers of ground pepper to US are Germany, Indonesia, Brazil and China.

Imports of white pepper to US have also increased, by 15.6 per cent. During January - September 2006, the US had imported 5,796 tonne of white pepper, an increase of 777 tonne as against 4,982 tonne imported during the same period last year.

Indonesia maintains its position as the largest supplier of white pepper to the US market during January - September 2006, with shipments totalling 2,639 tonne.

However, the position of Indonesia as the largest supplier to USA may be taken over by Vietnam, which supplied 2,022 tonne of white pepper, followed by Brazil with 373 tonne.

Vietnam, which began exporting white pepper into US in 2002 with just 3 tonne, has significantly increased its exports of white pepper to the US market.

In 2003, Vietnam shipped 359 tonne and during the following three years, exports from Vietnam have surpassed 1000 tonne annually.