India declined to the fourth position on the global pepper export table in 2010. India, which was the second-largest exporter of the spice, fell to the fourth position after Vietnam, Indonesia and Brazil.
Brisk exports by Indonesia in 2010 brought it to the second spot as their shipments were around 46,000 tonnes, 15 per cent up from exports in 2009. Brazil grabbed the third place by shipping more than 25,000 tonnes.
India’s pepper exports 2010 declined to 21, 500 tonnes from 25,250 tonnes in the previous year. India, which started pepper cultivation and export more than 3,000 years ago, was world No.1 till the end of 1980s. But, when Vietnam started the cultivation of pepper wines in the later half of the eighties, India lost its prominence. Local exporters are now afraid of sustaining even the fourth place as countries like China and Malaysia are also aggressive towards the production and the export of the spice.
India’s production is declining year by year due to old vines, static acreage, poor replanting and shift to other remunerative crops like rubber and cocoa. The average annual production of India is 55,000 tonnes. In 2010-11 season, it is estimated to drop to 45,000 tonnes. Interestingly, India is becoming a net importer of the spice as local value-added product manufacturers now depend more on Vietnam, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
Pepper exports from Vietnam, world’s largest producer and exporter dropped in 2010, according to the information available from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The ministry said the country exported 116,000 tonnes of pepper, earning $419 million. Exports declined 13.3 per cent in volume year-on-year but increased 20.5 per cent in value.
In value terms, Vietnam achieved the highest export earnings in 2010. Do Ha Nam, chairman of the Vietnam Pepper Association said the country accounted for 60 per cent of the total pepper exports in the world market during the last calender year.
White pepper output accounted for 20 per cent of the total pepper exports in 2010. The association expected demand and the price of the spice on the world market to remain high this year. Vietnam would produce 100,000-110,000 tonnes of pepper, with 100,000 tonnes earmarked for export, Nam said. This year’s harvesting season starts by February.