IMPORT OF PEPPER BY ITALY

Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a Southern European country consisting of a peninsula delimited by the Alps and surrounded by several islands. Furthermore, Italy actively imports pepper from various pepper producing countries for domestic consumption or for re-export.

In 2017, Italy was reported to have imported a total 4,792 Mt of pepper which 83% or 3,991 Mt of it comprised of whole pepper while 17% or 801 Mt of it was ground pepper. The average import by Italy in 2017 was reported to be 399 Mt per month with the highest quantity recorded in June with 548 Mt. The total

expenditure of pepper imported by Italy was reported to be as high as USD 33.2 Million, recording an averageprice of the total pepper imported by Italy at USD 6,526 per Mt for whole pepper and USD 8,967 Per Mt for ground pepper.

Year 2018 saw a decreasing trend in term of quantity of pepper imported by Italy. Italy was reported to haverecorded a total of 4,586 Mt which 82% or 3,773 Mt of it comprised of whole pepper and 18% or 814 Mt of it was ground pepper. Thus, recording 4% decrease as compared to the same period in 2017. The average pepper imported by Italy was reported at 382 Mt per month which peaked in January and November with 474 Mt respectively. In accordance with decreasing in terms of quantity, Italy was recorded to have spent 30% less on its pepper import, totaling at USD 23.3 Million and recording an average price of the total pepper imported by Italy at USD 4,892 per Mt for whole pepper and USD 6,054 per Mt for ground pepper or decreasing by 25% and 32% respectively as compared to 2017. Pepper import by Italy as of November 2019 was reported with a decreased of 1% as compared with the same period in 2018, totaling at 4,221 Mt which comprised of 3,563 Mt of whole pepper and 658 Mt of ground pepper. The total expenditure of pepper imports by Italy as of November 2019 decreased by 30% as compared to the same period on the previous year, totaling at USD 16.7 Million.

The top five countries of origins of Italian pepper both for whole and ground as of November 2019 were reported to be Viet Nam with 1,065 Mt (an increase of 10% as compared with the same period in 2018), France with 991 Mt (a decrease of 6%), Brazil with 668 Mt (an increase of 8%), Germany with 361 Mt (a decrease of 15%) and Indonesia with 255 Mt (a decrease of 16%). The decreased of Italy import from Indonesia, Germany and France could be contributed to Italy preference of importing from other origins countries which offered more competitive price such as Viet Nam (an increase by 94 Mt as compared to the same period in 2018) and Brazil (an increase by 50 Mt).

As the result of the Corona Virus outbreak, global pepper market has been greatly affected as business has been reported to slow down almost in all of the major market in the world including Italy with 41,035 confirmed cases and 3,405 deaths related to Corona Virus. Italy now has the highest number of Corona Virus deaths in the world, surpassing China as Europe became the epicenter of the pandemic.

(VPA & IPC)