Domestic coffee prices continuously set new records and are about to approach 100,000 VND (about 4 USD) per kg. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – The prices of Vietnamese coffee andpepper are forecast to continue increasing due to limited supply while the export of these products has also enjoyed relative growth, according to insiders.

Domestic coffee prices continuously set new records and areabout to approach 100,000 VND (about 4 USD) per kg. Currently, the averagepurchase price of coffee in Central Highlands provinces is 98,600 VND per kg.

Vietnam shipped nearly 600,000 tonnes of coffee abroad in thefirst quarter of this year, earning 1.9 billion USD, up only 3% in volume but up 54% invalue year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment.

 Coffee ꦕis the second biggest export turnover earner among agricultural products, just behind wood products. It is attributꦍable to the fact that coffee prices have increased by 43.5% over the same period last year and reached an average of3,181 USD per tonne.

Export coffee prices have increased, but there’s not much coffeeleft in stock. According to the Vietnam Coffee-Cocoa Association (Vicofa),Vietnam’s coffee production for the 2023-2024 crop will decline by 20% comparedto the previous crop, to more than 1.33 million tonnes.

Regarding pepper, preliminary statistics of the Vietnam Pepperand S🥂pice Association (VPSA) showed that Vietnam 🐓exported 12,368 tonnes ofpepper worth 53 million USD in the first 16 days of March.

Export prices averaged 4,022 USD per tonne during January -February, up 28.7% from the same period last year. In March, prices of domestic pepper increased 500 - 2,000VND per kg.

VPSA Chairwomaꦉn Hoang Thi Lien attributed the surge ofpepper prices to low inventories and strong demand in the US market in the last threemonths of 2023. The late harvest season in Dak Nong province was also a problem,she said, adding that a temporary shortage of supply led to an increase indomestic prices.

Currently, many localities are accelerating pepperharvesting in the 2023-2024 crop but farmers are delaying their sales withexpectations of higher prices, she added.

Echoing her opinion, Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen, Deputy Directorof Prosi Tꩲhang Long Company, said that pepper exports have recorded stronggrowth siꦰnce 2023.