Viet Nam’s pepper export turnover reaches a new milestone

According to a bulletin from the Agency of Foreign Trade (Ministry of Industry and Trade), citing data from the Customs Department, Viet Nam exported 18,788 tons of pepper worth $126 million in October 2025, up 1.9% in volume and 4.42% in value compared with October 2024.

Cumulatively over the first 10 months of 2025, Viet Nam’s pepper exports reached 205,229 tons, worth $1.39 billion, down 6.4% in volume but up 25.3% in value compared with the same period in 2024.

Thus, Viet Nam’s pepper export turnover in the first 10 months of 2025 has already surpassed the $1.3 billion achieved in all of 2024. This figure is nearly equal to the full-year export value of 2016 (around $1.43 billion), which was the highest level recorded up to 2024.

In October 2025, the average export price of pepper rose 0.6% from September 2025 and 2.4% from October 2024 to $6,706 per ton. For the entire 10-month period, the average export price rose 33.8% to $6,780 per ton, compared with the same period in 2024.

During the first 10 months of 2025, the U.S. remained Viet Nam’s largest export market, importing 45.8 thousand tons worth more than $341 million, down 28.5% in volume but up 1% in value year-on-year.

Exports to Germany – the second-largest market – reached 14 thousand tons, valued at more than $107 million, down 1.8% in volume but up 34.8% in value from the same period in 2024. Exports to several other markets also increased in both volume and value, including Thailand, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and Egypt.

According to the latest forecast from the International Pepper Community (IPC), global pepper output could recover to around 533,000 tons by 2026, assuming weather conditions remain favorable and farm-rehabilitation programs continue.

Weather disruptions across key growing regions are expected to lead to a slight decline in global production in 2025, with output forecast at around 520,000 tons.

Pepper prices in global markets are expected to maintain their upward trend, supported by recovering demand in major markets. This will continue to boost Viet Nam’s pepper exports in the remaining months of the year. Even if production does not rise significantly, high prices will help sustain strong value growth, with the industry aiming to surpass $1.5 billion in 2025.

The sharp decline in U.S. imports of Vietnamese pepper is also a primary reason for the significant drop in Viet Nam’s export volume, as the U.S. is the country’s largest market. Data from the International Trade Center (ITC) shows that in the first five months of this year, the U.S. imported more than 36 thousand tons of pepper worth $ 273 million, down 3.3% in volume. Imports specifically from Viet Nam fell 18%.

According to Viet Nam General Customs, in the first seven months of 2025, Viet Nam’s pepper exports to the U.S. market dropped 24% year-on-year, reaching nearly 33 thousand tons. Although export volume to the U.S. declined sharply, export turnover still increased by 21% to $248 million, thanks to significantly higher export prices.

Despite the U.S. cutting imports from Viet Nam and increasing purchases from Indonesia and India, Viet Nam remains the largest supplier to this market, accounting for 64.4% of total U.S. pepper imports in the first five months of 2025.

The 20% countervailing duty imposed by the U.S. on Vietnamese imports has generally not caused major concern for Vietnamese pepper exporters. Mr Le Viet Anh, Secretary General of VPSA, explained that Indonesian pepper exported to the U.S. is subject to a 19% countervailing duty. Compared with the duty applied to Vietnamese pepper, this difference is negligible.

Although Viet Nam’s pepper exports to the U.S. declined in the first six months of this year, this may only be a temporary outcome during a market adjustment phase ahead of the new tax policy. Viet Nam’s advantage of having a lower tariff rate compared with Brazil, India, and others, combined with stable supply capacity, provides a basis for expecting a positive rebound in pepper exports to the U.S. in the second half of 2025.

VPSA also forecasts that global pepper prices will rise in the second half of 2025 as major markets increase their purchasing, creating more favorable conditions for Viet Nam’s pepper exports.