Vietnam floods and landslides displace 90,000 people as new cyclone nears

READ REPORT ABOUT POSSIIBLE CONSEQUENCES FOR PEPPERTRADE...

October 19, 2020
More than 100 so far reported dead or missing after two storms destroy homes and leave trail of destruction
Floods and landslides in Vietnam are reported to have left at least 102 people dead or missing, while tens of thousands of people have lost their homes to rising water.

Two storms that hit central Vietnam in the first two weeks of October, Storm Linfa and Storm Nangka, brought six times higher than average rainfall, flooding 136,000 houses and forcing 90,000 people to evacuate their homes. A third cyclone is expected to hit the coast in the coming days.

Worst hit is Hue province, some 700km (434 miles) away from the capital, Hanoi. Police and soldiers have been using canoes and boats in Ha Tinh city to reach the most flooded areas to evacuate people and move property to safety. In this city alone, more than 20,700 people were reported to have been evacuated.

In Quang Binh province, 130km away, flood water continues to rise, swallowing up entire houses or burying them beneath landslides. On Sunday 13 households , about 60 people in total, were relocated, as an estimated 3,000 tonnes of rock and soil came crashing down on homes and roads.

Landslides buried a military barracks at Quang Trị in the early hours of Sunday, killing 22 soldiers and officers.

Blue Dragon, a non-governmental organisation that helps at-risk families around Vietnam, is one of a handful of non-profits working in Hue, with help and donations slowly trickling in.

Founder Michael Brosowski said: “Hue experiences floods each year, but the scale and the speed this year is shocking. Local residents now live in a way that is prepared for a natural disaster, but this is on a much larger scale. They’ll have to start all over again.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/19/vietnam-floods-and-landslides-displace-90000-people-as-new-cyclone-nears
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*SEE UPDATE HERE... 

 

 

 

 

VIETNAM PEPPER MARKET UPDATE 20TH OCT 2020 – WEEK 43

 

 

 

Every year from August to October, there are storms, tropical depressions in the central provinces of Vietnam. However, this year, natural calamities have happened quickly and take the worst consequences in recent years. All regions in Vietnam are continuously affected by storms and tropical depressions, especially severe flooding has been happening in the central provinces of Vietnam in which;

-           Quang Tri Province; Severely flooded, this is also a quite famous province for pepper because farmers focus on a sustainable program and quality was low pesticide residues. Quang Tri crop size is about 2,500 - 4,000 tons/year. However, facing severe natural disasters, it is likely pepper plantations in Quang Tri province will be completely destroyed.

-           Heavy rain and flood in early October affected many places in some key raw material areas such as Tuy Duc, Dak RLap, Dak Song in Dak Nong; Cu Kuin, Ea H’leo, Krong Nang, Cu M’Gar,… in Dak Lak. Therefore, the possibility of disease and pest attack to the pepper vine is foreseen while pepper plantation is very sensitive to weather conditions. If the weather continues to change suddenly, it will almost seriously affect the yield of the 2021 crop.

 

Pepper prices increased rapidly with an increase of about 5% for black pepper and 6% for white pepper within 1 week. Demand is pushed up from China and other countries such as USA/ASIA ... The Chinese government also gradually loosened measures for agricultural products between two countries, pushing the demand up rapidly (pepper prices increased 4%, Star Anise 10-20%, cinnamon/cassia also increased from 5 - 10% within 1 week).

Demand has risen again while inventories have decreased significantly at the end of the season. Therefore, the material traded on the market is not abundant and very limited quantity was done. Farmers and domestic collectors do not offer raw material from yesterday.

In addition, unfavorable weather factors have reinforced confidence in the 2021 crop with reduced quantity and encouraged farmers/middlemen and even exporters to increase stockpiling and do not rush to offer. Some said they can stockpile for the next 3 years and believe the market can not come down in medium term.

Many big buyers are interested to buy the current price for long distance shipment 2021, however processors and exporters are cautious and withdraw.

 

Export: According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, in the first 9 months of 2020, Vietnam exported 220,193 tons of pepper with a turnover of 489.5 million USD. Compared to the same period in 2019, the export volume decreased by 5.8%, the turnover decreased by 17.5%.

 

MONTHLY AVARAGE PEPPER PRICE 2018 - 2020 FOR REFERENCE

 

 

MONTH	BLACK PEPPER			WHITE PEPPER
	2018	2019	2020	2018	2019	2020
1	3.773	3.313	2.340	5.918	3.654	3.255
2	3.481	2.512	2.130	5.413	3.251	3.218
3	3.357	2.448	2.160	5.061	3.169	3.127
4	3.040	2.414	2.109	4.624	2.970	3.150
5	3.084	2.365	2.184	4.540	3.037	3.182
6	3.085	2.376	2.285	4.679	2.883	3.221
7	2.970	2.447	2.371	4.240	2.516	3.475
8	2.817	2.370	2.445	4.009	2.721	3.519
9	2.983	2.388	2.416	3.944	3.093	3.561
10	2.891	2.333		3.933	3.024
11	2.972	2.274		4.733	3.155
12	3.016	2.282		4.301	3.368
AVARAGE	3.122	2.460	2.271	4.616	3.070	3.334

 

 READ MORE NEWS ABOUT WEATHER IN VIETNAM LAST WEEK...

IPC MARKET REPORT No. 42/20, 12 - 16 October 2020

 

 

16 October 2020

MARKET REPORT

Market this week showed a mixed response. In local market, Malabar black pepper was reported stable with a marginal decrease at an average of USD 4,379 per Mt. Indonesia black pepper was reported stable with a marginal increase averaging at USD 1,964 per Mt. Whilst, Indonesia white pepper was reported with 2% deficit when compared to the previous week averaging at USD 3,690 per Mt. The decrease of Indonesian white pepper could be contributed to the oversupply in local market. Malaysia black and white pepper were reported with 4% and 1% deficit respectively as opposed to the previous week averaging at USD 2,258 per Mt for black pepper and USD 3,699 per Mt for white pepper. Furthermore, Viet Nam black and white pepper were reported stable with a marginal increase to an average of USD 2,097 per Mt for black pepper and USD 2,831 per Mt for white pepper. Sri Lanka black pepper was reported with 1% deficit as compared to the previous week and was traded at an average of USD 3,050 per Mt. China white pepper was traded at an average of USD 4,192 per Mt Locally.

International market was reported with a rather stable outlook as only Indonesia white pepper recorded a decrease. India black pepper was reported stable with a marginal decrease at an average of USD 4,652 per Mt. Indonesia black pepper was reported stable with a marginal increase at an average of USD 2,402 per Mt. Whilst, Indonesia white pepper was reported with 2% deficit as compared to the previous week averaging at USD 4,336 per Mt. Malaysia black and white pepper continued to be reported stable and unchanged. Furthermore, Viet Nam black pepper 500 g/l, 550 g/l and Viet Nam white pepper were also reported stable and unchanged. China traded its white pepper at an average of USD 4,392 per Mt internationally.

International market was reported with a decreasing demand from USA and Europe. Muntok white pepper in US Market for CF October/November was reported at USD 4.200 - USD 4,300 per Mt.