Malaysia will see a 10 per cent rise in pepper exports in 2014 compared to last year, plantation industries and commodities minister announced
Datuk Douglas Unggah Embas said that in 2013 the country exported 21,105 metric tonnes of pepper worth US$85mn while expressing optimism that the export target of US$203mn by 2020 could be achieved, Bernama reported.
“We believe this year’s target is attainable with the growing market for the commodity, reflected in the current encouraging prices for black and white pepper of US$6,488 and US$9,608 per metric tonne respectively,” he added.
Malaysia is the world’s fifth largest pepper producer, while Japan, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Western Europe and South Korea are the biggest markets.
A pepper grower can earn an average of US$2,745 a month from a one hectare farm.
