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Stable Vietnam Offers • Brazil Price Intelligence • Supply & Replacement Costs • Working Capital • Landed Procurement

Based at origin in Brazil, Brazspice provides international buyers direct access to verified exporters and structured pepper supply programs.

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The pepper market enters Week 37 with relatively stable export offers from Vietnam, continued uncertainty around Brazilian executable FOB levels, and an increasingly important question for European industrial buyers:

What is the real cost of choosing one origin over another?

Vietnam export offers remain unchanged from last week. At origin, however, stable prices should not automatically be interpreted as weak demand. Suitable-quality raw material availability, replacement costs and selective selling continue to influence the market.

Brazil remains more difficult from a real-time price-transparency perspective. We have no dependable executable exporter offer this week, although the latest IPC external ASTA 570 reference provides an indication of market direction.

For procurement teams, however, FOB price is only one part of the decision.

Ocean freight, transit time, inventory financing, direct routing and supply reliability can materially change the economics of an origin.

• Brazil Price Visibility — Executable FOB levels remain under review
• Brazil External Reference — Latest IPC ASTA 570 reference: USD 5,750/MT
• Vietnam FOB Market — Current Brazspice supply program unchanged
• Vietnam Origin Market — Stable pricing, with replacement cost and suitable raw-material availability important
• Buyer Behavior — Purchasing increasingly aligned with immediate requirements
• Europe Logistics — Transit-time differences remain relevant to origin selection
• Working Capital — Inventory time at sea deserves greater attention
• Procurement Focus — Calculate beyond FOB
• Procurement Signal — COMPARE ORIGINS 

Vietnam's current export offers remain unchanged from last week.

The latest origin information received by Brazspice indicates domestic buying prices have remained stable, while exporters continue to face higher replacement costs and limited availability of suitable-quality raw material.

Export activity remains active, although elevated pepper prices, logistics costs and currency movements continue to influence purchasing and shipment decisions.

Demand from major consuming markets, including the United States, Europe and China, remains an important supporting factor, particularly for higher-quality and traceable pepper.

At the same time, buyers appear increasingly focused on purchasing according to immediate requirements rather than building substantial inventories.

The important distinction for procurement teams is therefore:

Flat prices do not necessarily mean flat demand.

A market can remain temporarily stable while the underlying supply-demand balance continues to provide support.

Pesticides Guarantee & EU

• + USD 180/MT, subject to the agreed analytical scope and exporter confirmation. 

Conventional Black Pepper — Steam Sterilized

550 g/l Double Cleaned
USD 6,535/MT FOB — EUR 5,623/MT FOB

570 g/l Double Cleaned
USD 6,645/MT FOB — EUR 5,717/MT FOB

Organic Black Pepper
USD 9,150/MT FOB — EUR 7,873/MT FOB

Organic White Pepper 630 g/l
USD 12,555/MT FOB — EUR 10,802/MT FOB

EUR equivalents based on the September 4 ECB reference rate of EUR 1 = USD 1.1622.

Actual transaction prices can vary according to specification, quantity, shipment timing, treatment, payment terms and commercial negotiations.

Brazspice does not have a sufficiently dependable executable Brazil exporter offer this week to publish ASTA 570, 570 g/l or 550 g/l B1 as a current Brazspice FOB level.

We therefore maintain:

BRAZSPICE BRAZIL FOB ASSESSMENT: UNDER REVIEW

The latest IPC external reference dated September 4 indicates Brazil Black Pepper ASTA 570 at USD 5,750/MT.

This provides useful market direction, but it should not be interpreted as a Brazspice exporter quotation or as a confirmed executable FOB offer.

This distinction remains important.

Brazilian farm prices, external benchmarks and individual exporter indications are useful inputs into market intelligence, but they are not automatically interchangeable with an export-ready FOB quotation for a specific grade, quality and shipment period.

Our principle remains simple: when we cannot confidently establish the Brazil FOB level, we publish the direction and explain why — rather than create a number simply to complete the report

Last week we examined the Brazil vs. Vietnam Landed Procurement Picture.

This week we take the analysis one step further.

Suppose two origins offer different FOB prices. The immediate purchasing reaction may be to select the lower quotation.

But what happens when one route requires approximately 16–18 additional days at sea?

That additional time can mean:

• More working capital tied up in inventory
• Longer cash-conversion cycles
• Earlier purchasing decisions
• Potentially greater safety-stock requirements
• Less flexibility when demand changes
• Longer exposure to shipping disruption

The calculation therefore extends beyond:

FOB Brazil vs. FOB Vietnam

It becomes:

FOB Price + Freight + Transit Time + Cost of Capital + Inventory Requirements + Supply Reliability

That is the landed procurement picture.

The exact financial effect of 18 additional days depends on the buyer.

Container value, payment terms, financing rate, inventory policy and when ownership/payment begins all matter.

For that reason, Brazspice would not claim that 18 additional days automatically eliminate a particular FOB advantage.

But the procurement principle is important:

Inventory in transit is still inventory.

When thousands of dollars of pepper remain at sea for an additional two to three weeks, the purchasing department should understand the financial impact rather than evaluate ocean transit as a logistics issue alone.

For European industrial buyers comparing Brazil and Vietnam, time can therefore become part of the price.

Vietnam continues to offer significant strengths: established processing capabilities, transparent export quotations, broad specifications and strong export infrastructure.

Brazil presents a different potential advantage for European procurement: geographic proximity and substantially shorter transit on selected direct services to Northern Europe.

Neither factor alone determines the best origin.

The industrial buyer should ask:

What is the pepper price?
What is the freight cost?
How long will my capital be tied up?
How much inventory must I maintain?
How reliable is the route and supply program?

Only then does the FOB comparison become a procurement comparison.

COMPARE ORIGINS — AND INCLUDE THE COST OF TIME

The lowest FOB price may still produce the best purchasing result.

But increasingly, the right question is not simply:

Which origin offers the lowest pepper price?

It is:

Which origin provides the most efficient landed procurement solution for this buyer, on this route, at this time?

Brazspice Spices
Independent Pepper Brokerage & Procurement Advisory