RI's pepper exports rose 5% in 1st quarter

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia exported 5,234 tons of pepper in the first quarter of this year, 6 percent higher than the 4,950 tons in the corresponding period of 1998, according to the International Pepper Community (IPC).

IPC said on Tuesday that Indonesia's pepper exports in the three month period comprised 1,705 tons of black pepper and 3,529 tons of white pepper.

Indonesia's monthly pepper exports totaled 1,736 tons in March, comprising 356 tons of black pepper and 1,380 tons of white pepper. The figure represented a decrease of 8 percent compared to 1,883 tons in February and 1,615 tons in January.

IPC said the lower exports in March were due to the extremely low exports of black pepper, caused by a very limited inventory in the country's main black pepper producing area of Lampung.

Indonesia is the world's top producer of white pepper and is ranked the second highest black pepper producer after India. White pepper is mostly grown on Bangka Island, South Sumatra, and accounts for 90 percent of the country's output, while black pepper is produced in Lampung, also in South Sumatra.

IPC said India, the world's top producer of pepper, exported 10,802 tons during the period, an increase of 20 percent compared to 8,991 tons in the same period of 1998.

The world's number three producer, Malaysia, exported 3,164 tons during the January-March period of this year, an increase of 13 percent from the 2,800 tons recorded in the first quarter of 1998.

The country exported 2,482 tons of black pepper and 912 tons of white pepper during the period.

IPC said the world pepper market during March was active, and demand increased as supplies in consuming countries was very limited.

Harvesting season in India is almost over, but crops arriving at Kochi, the country's main producing area, are not as large as expected.

IPC said prices in the three main producing countries in March consequently remained strong compared to prices in February.

In Indonesia, pepper prices have also improved. Lampung black pepper was traded at Rp 32,400 (US$3.8) per kilogram in Lampung, while white pepper was quoted at Rp 60,500 per kilo in Bangka, IPC said.

IPC is an intergovernmental organization of pepper producing countries comprising Brazil, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Papua New Guinea and Micronesia.

Earlier this year, IPC estimated Indonesia's pepper exports to drop by 26 percent to approximately 30,000 tons this year, from 37,800 tons last year, due to unfavorable weather conditions.

Total pepper exports from the three main producing countries, India, Indonesia and Malaysia, rose by 15 percent to 19,200 tons in the first three months of this year, from 16,741 metric tons in the same period of 1998.

World pepper exports were recorded at 125,957 tons in 1998, compared with 138,589 tons in 1997.

IPC said 1998 was the world's lowest pepper export year in the past decade. (gis)