Pepper growers reap big gains as prices rise

At this time of the year, farmers in major pepper-growing regions across the country are entering the harvest season for the 2026 crop. With farm-gate prices remaining high, the sector is optimistic that export turnover will continue to grow.

The recent Lunar New Year (Year of the Horse) was considered a big win for farmers in the Central Highlands, where many key crops such as coffee and durian have fetched high prices. As coffee harvesting ended, farmers quickly moved into the main pepper harvest, opening up another promising season.

Le Thi Thom, a farmer in Quang Phu commune in Dak Lak province, said her family cultivates nearly one hectare of coffee intercropped with pepper, along with about 0.5 ha of durian. Before the Lunar New Year festival 2026, coffee prices stood at around 102,000 VND (3.88 USD) per kg, while durian remained above 70,000 VND per kg, bringing high profits. After the holiday, her family started harvesting pepper, with early-season prices exceeding 150,000 VND per kg.

In Tan Hoi hamlet of Tan Tien border commune in the southern province of Dong Nai, Le Van Den has been growing pepper for more than two decades. His family currently maintains over 3,000 mature pepper vines and planted another 600 at the start of the 2025 rainy season.

Den said that in earlier years, when pepper prices were high, his farm had more than 4,000 vines. However, during the period when prices plunged, the family removed many plants. The situation began improving in 2024 when they harvested four tonnes of pepper and sold at about 160,000 VND per kg, earning around 500 million VND after costs. Despite years of fluctuating prices and disease effect, Den said the family’s perseverance has finally paid off.

Developing sustainable pepper-growing areas

According to Le Viet Anh, Secretary General of the Vietnam Pepper and Spice Association (VPSA), with domestic supply tightening, Vietnamese exporters have had to increase imports of pepper from other countries. Domestic stockpiles from 2022 and 2023 have already been exhausted.

In 2025, Vietnam imported 42,688 tonnes of pepper to meet export demand, up more than 16% in volume and about 51% in value compared with 2024. Imports are expected to continue this year as global demand rises while domestic output is forecast to fall by 15–20%. Meanwhile, global pepper supply in 2026 is projected to drop by 15–20% as inventories in many major producing countries decline.

Despite being the world’s largest pepper exporter, accounting for about half of global output, Vietnam still imports significant volumes each year, mainly for processing and re-export.

According to VPSA, the 2026 harvest began in late February and will last until the end of April. Farmers are unlikely to sell large quantities at once, instead releasing part of their output to cover harvesting and fertiliser costs while storing the rest in anticipation of higher prices.

The limited supply has raised concerns about a challenging export year for Vietnam’s pepper industry. However, experts expect global demand to rebound, particularly in the US market after tariffs on pepper were reduced to 0% and many countries stepped up purchases. Additional growth is also expected from China, where inventories are reportedly running low and may not be sufficient to meet domestic demand.

Huynh Tan Dat, Director of the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, urged Vietnamese firms to develop stable pepper-growing areas, work closely with farmers, adopt advanced farming practices, and invest more in deep processing to raise product value and strengthen Vietnam’s global pepper position, towards promoting the industry’s sustainable development.

Statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs show that in 2025 Vietnam exported more than 246,000 tonnes of pepper, down 1.5% year on year. However, thanks to a 28.3% rise in average export prices, export value still surged 26% to a record 1.66 billion USD, with the US remaining the largest import market of Vietnamese pepper./.