The average price of peppercorn this harvest season is 14,000 riel ($3.45) per kg, slightly down from the 15,000-17,000 riel averaged last year, according to the top industry body. POST STAFF
The Cambodia Pepper and Spice Federation (CPSF) has said that the average price of peppercorn this harvest season is 14,000 riel ($3.45) per kilogramme, marking a slight decrease from the 15,000-17,000 riel averaged last year.
The federation noted that the fall in pepper prices this year is due to a number of factors, including the impact of rising oil prices on transport fees – which have increased steeply – as well as labour shortages and a lack of export markets.
“During the harvest season, the price always drops a little, but at the moment it’s still better than this time last year, where prices fell to 12,000 riel per kilogramme,” it said.
CPSF president Mak Ny said he predicts that yields of peppercorn without geographical indication (GI) status will fall by “10-40 per cent” from last year’s 20,000 tonnes.
He also noted that the quality of pepper this year has declined in some areas, and have failed to meet the standards and needs of exporters. “The volume of pepper orders from exporters is still limited,” Ny said.
Kry Song, owner of an organic pepper farm in Mondulkiri province, told The Post that this year’s pepper yield will be “slightly lower” than last year’s due to unfavourable weather conditions, which have been causing some pests to destroy crops.
The price of pepper that traders in Mondulkiri are buying now is similar to last year, at about 14,000 riel per kilogramme, he said, adding that the price has not dropped as much as it did several years ago, when a kilogramme of pepper cost just over 8,000 riel.
Song said that current prices have been largely acceptable to farmers as they are similar to last year’s, translating to growers being willing and able to expand cultivation.
Regarding organic pepper, Song said that prices have yet to be set by traders due to the harvest having just begun. Organic pepper prices average at about 4,000-5,000 riel per kilogramme more than regular crops.
According to a recent Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries report, pepper exports in the first quarter of 2022 reached 3,073 tonnes, an increase of 175 per cent year-on-year.
The key market was Vietnam (2,930 tonnes), followed by Germany (105.60 tonnes), Malaysia (13.64 tonnes), Belgium (8.80 tonnes), France (7.89 tonnes), the Czech Republic (2.30 tonnes), Canada (one tonne), Japan (one tonne), US (0.92 tonne), UK (0.90 tonne), Sweden (0.49 tonne), Kazakhstan (0.29 tonne) and Australia (0.10 tonne).
