Pepper and Coffee Prices Hit Historic Highs
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On September 23, agricultural companies and dealers in Đắk Nông and across Vietnam’s Central Highlands paid:
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Pepper: 154,000 VND/kg, up 10,000 VND from September 20 and 16,000 VND higher than the previous weekend—the highest domestic pepper price ever recorded.
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Coffee: 44,600 VND/kg, after nearly a year of hovering around 50,000 VND/kg.
These soaring prices have triggered a rush among farmers to expand pepper and coffee plantations, often by clearing forest land.
Rapid Expansion of Pepper and Coffee Plantations
According to the Đắk Nông Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, since the start of 2011:
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Pepper: 534 ha newly planted (up 207 ha year-on-year)
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Đắk Song: 378 ha
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Krông Nô: 45 ha
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Cư Jút: 40 ha
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Đắk Glong: 20 ha
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Coffee: 861 ha newly planted
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Đắk Song: 196 ha
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Tuy Đức: 173 ha
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Đắk R’lấp: 159 ha
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Đắk Glong: 150 ha
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Even in the mid-to-late rainy season, forest clearing for new farmland and pepper poles continues unabated.
Deforestation and Illegal Logging Surge
The Đắk Nông Forest Protection Department reports:
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Sept 2010–Sept 2011: nearly 1,000 forestry-law violations, destroying 350+ ha of forest.
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First nine months of 2011: almost 300 illegal logging cases, devastating 200+ ha of natural forest, especially in Tuy Đức, Đắk Glong, Đắk R’lấp, and Krông Nô.
Mr. Lê Văn Tường, head of Tuy Đức Forest Protection Unit, warned:
“Since May, dozens of illegal logging cases occur each month to clear land for coffee, pepper, and rubber. Deforestation is worsening, and violent resistance against law enforcement is frequent. Without strong measures, the remaining old-growth forests cannot withstand this aggressive destruction.”
“Pole Fever” Fuels Timber Cutting
Rising pepper cultivation has driven a surge in demand for pepper poles. Farmers report:
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Poles cost 270,000–300,000 VND each, up 70,000–100,000 VND since early 2011—yet supplies remain scarce.
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High prices encourage outsiders to incite locals to cut forests for cheap timber poles, which are then resold to farmers at exorbitant prices.
Despite the damage, authorities have yet to intervene effectively.
An Ongoing Cycle
For decades, whenever coffee and pepper prices spike, farmers across the Central Highlands clear forests to expand plantations. Local and regional authorities still lack lasting solutions to manage forests and break this destructive cycle of commodity booms and rampant deforestation.