India seeks steady supply of pepper in Vietnam

The Indian company Bafna in Kochi in the western state of Kerala, has acquired a factory in Vietnam where it will start to process pepper.

Bafna is the third spice company from Kochi to have set up an operation in the southeast Asian nation to guarantee supplies for its clients.

Since most of the importers rely on Vietnamese pepper, maintaining a base here will help, said Jojan Malayil, the Chief Executive Officer of Bafna.

Another leading Kochi-based spice company Vallabhdas Kanji also has its operations based in Vietnam . The company’s subsidiary VKL Vietnam was set up only a few years ago.

India ’s Jayanthi Group and the US-based Harris Freeman & Company are also processing and marketing spices in Vietnam .

Vietnam , which is the world’s largest producer of pepper, exported nearly 135,000 tonnes of pepper worth 348 million USD in 2009, according for half the global market.

Tags: India pepper, Vietnam Pepper, Vietnam pepper exports