Weekly Publications

MARKET REPORT

This week market showed a rather negative trend with only Sri Lanka recorded an increase. In local level, black pepper in India was traded with a slight deficit of 1% as compared to the previous week at an average of US$ 4,912 per Mt. The strengthening of India's Rupee didn't affect the price of black pepper because the price in local currency experienced a constant drop and was traded at INR 348 per Kg. Indonesia was reported to record a deficit of 2% for their black pepper trade when compared to the previous week whilst its Muntok white pepper was traded relatively stable. Malaysia origin was reported to record a stable trade of its black and white pepper locally and was traded at an average of US$ 2,300 per Mt for black and US$ 3,870 per Mt. for white. As their market just resumed after Lunar New Year holiday season, Viet Nam and China were reported to trade their pepper at an average of US$ 1,933 per Mt for Viet Nam black pepper, US$ 3,080 per Mt. for Viet Nam white pepper and US$ 4,869 per Mt. for China white pepper. Sri Lanka, though its local currency weakened toward US Dollar, recorded an increase of 2% in its black pepper price as compared to the previous week and was traded at an average of US$ 3,258 per Mt.

Following the trend in local level, FOB price of India was also recorded at 1% lower than the previous week and was traded with a loss of US$ 46 per Mt from the previous week. Lampung black pepper's FOB price had also recorded a loss of 2% when compared with the previous week and was traded at an average of US$ 2,684 per Mt whilst Muntok had also recorded a stable trade this week. Malaysia's black and white pepper FOB prices were also reported stable this week. Viet Nam's FOB prices for black 500 g/l and 550 g/l as well as white pepper were traded flat since the beginning of the week at US$ 2,175 per Mt, US$ 2,275 per Mt. and US$ 3,525 per Mt. respectively. China white pepper FOB price was also reported relatively flat at an average of US$ 5,069 per Mt.

EXPORT OF GREEN PEPPER FROM INDIA:

The pepper industry is a prospective industry and has good opportunities in the future. Pepper products are currently more commonly known in the form of black pepper, white pepper, and powdered/crushed/ground pepper. However, besides being processed into black pepper, white pepper and pepper powder, pepper can also be processed into various products such as pepper oleoresin (discussed at Prices Bulletin No. 3/2019), pepper oil, dehydrated green pepper, and freeze-dried green pepper. Value added pepper products are reported to have a fairly good selling value and have their own market in the pepper industry.

Dehydrated Green Pepper:

Dehydrated green pepper is obtained through controlled drying and the green color is maintained by activating the polyphenol oxidase enzyme. Pepper used for making dehydrated green pepper is prepared which is still in fresh condition, dark green, the seeds are hard but the fruit is not yet ripe. After the pepper is harvested, it must be processed immediately to avoid the pepper becoming black due to the activity of the polyphenol oxidase enzyme. It is recommended that 3-4 hours after harvesting the fruit should be processed immediately, if not directly processed, the pepper can be soaked in 2% salt solution for approximately 12 hours. Apart from being able to maintain the quality of the pepper, soaking also functions to remove dirt that is carried away during harvesting.

Dehydrated green pepper has a comparative advantage that white pepper and black pepper do not have, which is a natural green color resembling fresh pepper. Dehydrated green pepper after being dissolved in water will resemble freshly harvested green pepper. Good quality of dehydrated green pepper is characterized by its natural green color, relatively intact form, the aroma and taste are close to the original, free from contamination of impurities and microorganisms.

The levels of oil and piperine are chemical components that contribute to the taste and aroma of dehydrated green pepper. Piperin is the main compound that gives a peppery spicy flavor, while essential oil is a volatile component that contributes to aroma. The components of the dried green pepper essential oil are dominated by monoterpenes, including limonen, mirsen, sabinen, α-pinen, β-pinen, α-filandren, and δ-3-karen, while the components of essential oils of white pepper and black pepper are dominated by sesquiterpenic compounds, including α-karyophilene, β-kariofilen, and β-farnesen. The aroma of dried green pepper is better than white pepper and black pepper because of the high content of monoterpenes so that it can produce the optimal quality of pepper aroma. The monoterpen group generally gives a scent of the top-peppery note, sesquiterpen provides a pepper aroma, while the oxygenated sesquiterpen compounds are the body of the pepper aroma.

Freeze-Dried Green Pepper:

Freeze-dried green pepper is processed from green pepper with a moisture content of about 66%, through the freezing process at low temperatures (-30 oC) - (-40 oC) and high vacuum pressure. Freeze dried green pepper has a moisture content of 2-4 percent and very light weight. The product has a natural color (bright green to greenish), the aroma and texture are much better than other dry green pepper either dried by manual drying (sun drying), solar dryer or oven.

This freeze-dried green pepper has rehydrated character, so it can be used directly or destroyed first to be added to every food recipe. To restore the pepper's texture to the natural texture, freexe-dried green pepper is rehydrated by soaking in hot water for 20 minutes. Freeze-dried green pepper is widely used in instant soup products, dry food and cheese, because it has special characteristics and a soft taste. India is one of the few countries that produce and market freeze-dried green pepper, and Europe is the main importer of freeze-dried green pepper.

Export:

India, known for their value added products, had exported significant quantities of dehydrated and free-dried green pepper in the last three years. From 2016 upto 2018, the total export of dehydrated and freeze-dried green pepper from India had fluctuated quite significantly.

In 2016, India exported a total of 609,286 Kg of green pepper which 88% of it comprised of dehydrated green pepper. On avereage, India exported 44,882 Kg of dehydrated green pepper and 5,892 Kg freeze-dried green pepper each month in 2016 with the highest quantity was reported at 109,558 Kg (January) for dehydrated green pepper and 11,860 Kg (June) for freeze-dried green pepper. India banked a total of US$ 10.2 million from its export revenue of green pepper in the year 2016 which then recorded an average price of total green pepper exported by india at US$ 15.32 per Kg for dehydrated and US$ 28.36 per Kg for freeze-dried.

The year 2017 saw a spike of 50% of the total export of green pepper from India with 833,812 Kg in dehydrated and 80,406 Kg in freeze-dried.Individually it recorded an increase of 54% for ddehydrated and 13% fro freeze-dried. India exported an averaged of 69,484 Kg of dehydrated and 6,701 Kg of freeze-dried each month of 2017 with the highest quantity recorded at 149,610 Kg (February) for dehydrated and 12,510 Kg ( August) for freeze-dried. In 2017, India reported to record a total revenue of green pepper export at US$ 15 million which was an increase of 47% as compared to the previous year. India recorded an average price of total export of green pepper at US$ 15.30 per Kg for dehydrated and US$ 28.19 per Kg for freeze-dried.

As of November 2018, India had exported a total of 754,102 Kg green pepper which comprised from 664,119 Kg dehydrated and 89,983 Kg freeze-dried. Thus, recording loss of 8% of the total export of green pepper by India when compared with the previous year. Furthemore, India banked over US$ 9.6 million from its export revenue of green pepper as of November 2018 which meant a loss of 27% in terms of value when compared with the previous year. Furthermore, the average price of the total export of green pepper also experienced a significant deficit ass it was reported at US$ 11.56 per Kg for dehydrated and US$ 22.20 per Kg for freeze-dried.

In 2018, the top five countries of export destination of India's green pepper were Germany with 330,623 Kg followed by the Netherland with 61,200 Kg, France 55,762 Kg, USA 55,432 Kg and Poland with 55,010 Kg.