Kampot pepper exports have weathered the economic storm created by COVID-19 and continue to remain a strong export product for the Kingdom, according to President of the Kampot Pepper Promotion Association (KPPA) Nguon Lay.
He said that typically the pepper market is boosted by purchases by tourists but even in their absence during the pandemic, international demand has remained strong.
Organisations such as Farm Link and the EU Land and Pepper Investment Co Ltd have helped keep the pepper market churning, he said.
FarmLink is a fair trade partner and exporter of Kampot pepper formed by European expatriates in 2006. EU Land Pepper Investment Co Ltd is a Czech-based company that specialises in Kampot Pepper exports.
Lay said prices stand at $15 per kilogramme (kg) for black pepper, $25 per kg for red pepper, $28 per kg for white pepper and $4 per kg for green pepper.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said during the first four months of this year pepper exports dropped 4.89 percent from last year to 2,141 tonnes.
Exports to Belgium were estimated at seven tonnes. The Czech Republic imported more than one tonne,
Vietnam was by far the largest importer of pepper and accounted for 2,094 tonnes. It was followed by Taiwan at 15 tonnes, Poland at seven tonnes and France at six tonnes.
Japan imported two tonnes and Korea, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic and Sweden imported one tonne each.
The US imported 0.39 of a tonne. Russian imports were 0.31 of a tonne.
Kampot pepper was awarded geographical indication status by the World Intellectual Property Organisation in 2010 along with Kampong Speu palm sugar.
Geographical indicators are given to products that derive their quality and charecteristics from the region where they are produced.