The Vietnam Pepper Association (VPA) held a seminar entitled "Promoting the export of Vietnamese pepper and spices under EVFTA" on December 21.

At the seminar, the participants believed that even though Vietnam's pepper exports to important markets will all decline in 2022, Vietnam will still be the world's largest pepper exporter. In the future, the pepper industry needs to focus on improving quality and processing rate to create added value, and to effectively develop high-end markets through various free trade agreements, especially the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

Ms. Hoang Thi Lien, chairperson of the Vietnam Pepper Association, said that in 2022, pepper, as well as other export industries in Vietnam, will encounter difficulties due to inflation and recession in many markets, as well as China's "zeroing out" policy, which will reduce export production.

In addition to exporting, Vietnamese companies also import pepper from Brazil, Indonesia and other countries and process it into higher-value export products. From the beginning of the year to the end of November, Vietnam imported 34,273 tons, a year-on-year increase of 48.9%.

Due to the advantages of EVFTA, Vietnam has an advantage over other pepper producing countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, etc. Specifically, the tariff rate for Vietnamese pepper exported to European countries has been reduced from 4% to zero. In addition, the processing capacity of Vietnam's pepper industry is also highly appreciated, and the proportion of processed pepper currently accounts for about 30% of total exports.

However, Ms. Huang Shilian believes that the pepper industry has not yet fully exploited the potential of various markets, especially the EU market. There is a great demand for pepper in Europe, but Vietnamese exporters only focus on a few major markets such as Germany, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. Other countries, especially Eastern European markets, are still ignored.