Global pepper demand looks open to debate

Monday March 18 2013

THE global pepper market appears to be presenting a confusing demand picture at the moment, with anticipated strong first quarter exports from Vietnam implying a good level of offtake, but international traders reporting a sluggish buying pattern.
On Monday, one Rotterdam trader observed that prices had held "fairly stable" over the last week. "The new crop from Vietnam is now being collected and arriving on the market. However, the farmers are not in a hurry to sell, which is not giving downward pressure to the prices. On the buying side, people are buying on a short term basis and hand to mouth, so this is keeping the market more or less in balance," he told The Public Ledger.