Indonesia and Vietnam to join forces to market pepper

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia and Vietnam, two of the world's main producers of pepper, are to cooperate in marketing it, an executive of the Indonesian pepper industry said Wednesday.

Mustakim Wijaya, vice-chairman of the Indonesian Pepper Exporters' Association, said producers here and in Vietnam planned to establish a joint committee to focus on marketing, improving quality standards and compiling statistics.

"The Vietnamese side wants the joint committee to be formed before the end of the year, and we are working on this," he was quoted by Thomson Financial as saying.

Together, the two countries produce more than 45 percent of the world's pepper.

Wijaya said the committee would meet annually to discuss the international market.

China and Brazil, two other big producers, have expressed interest in joining the committee and have sent observers to meetings between Indonesian and Vietnamese representatives, including a two-day meeting which finished here Tuesday.

Vietnam has about 33 percent of the world market, Brazil has 15 percent and Indonesia 13 percent.

Mustakim said that world pepper supply remained well below demand, with a shortfall of about 47,500 tonnes estimated for 2007.