Kampot pepper, one of the Kingdom’s top Geographical Indication (GI) products, is under pressure as over-cultivation drives farmers to give up production, said Kampot Pepper Promotion Association (KPPA) president Nguon Lay.

Lay said farmers’ production has continued to increase annually despite the volume of orders remaining the same, which has created an oversupply of the crop.

In 2017, annual exports were around 70 tonnes with production reaching 102 tonnes, he said, adding that farmers can only sell part of their total output.

“Our pepper is saturated, little is sold on the market and our production has exceeded demand. Now, there are only smallholder farmers and large companies which continue their efforts to cultivate [the crop].

“Growers [with large plots of land] who do not have their own packaging machinery have exhausted their capital. It’s been three years since they’ve been able to sell [their crop]. Their containers are full of pepper,” said Lay.

He said the pepper harvest season runs from January to June every year and as of last month, there had been no expansion of the crop.

“Today, most companies which used to buy pepper from farmers now have their own pepper farms. They will only buy from farmers if they do not have enough,” he said.

Kampot pepper was recognised as a GI product by the World Trade Organisation in 2010. The crop currently covers a cultivation area of 250ha, exclusively in Kampot and Kep provinces.http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/kampot-pepper-suffering-supply-exceeds-demand