Việt Nam currently ranks third in the world as a spice supplier and processor after India and China, but mainly exports products with low processed content, said the Việt Nam Pepper and Spice Association (VPSA).

The entire Vietnamese spice industry currently has 14 factories with deep processing technology.

Regarding pepper, Việt Nam is still ranked number one in the world in production and export. However, in the context of competition and favourable market fluctuations for other crops such as coffee and durian, the area and output of Vietnamese pepper are decreasing.

Hoàng Thị Liên, VPSA President, said that all efforts and support needed to be focused on pepper to ensure stable area and output so that Việt Nam would continue to take the initiative, playing a role in regulating world market prices as it had been doing.

The VPSA said that the country's exports of pepper, cinnamon, anise, chili, nutmeg, ginger and turmeric reached US$1.3 billion last year.

The association expects that the country's total spice export turnover will reach $2.2 billion in the next five years. —VNS