Aussies warned to stock up as common cooking ingredient faces global shortage
Aussies are being warned to brace for a shortage of pepper, in particular black pepper, which is expected to face dwindling supplies and soaring prices.
This is due to a "poor monsoon" season in the countries where pepper is grown.
Grocery shoppers are being advised to stock up on the common cooking ingredient as shortages are expected to hit later this year.
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Aussies are being warned to brace for a shortage of pepper. 9Honey
Iah Hemphill, Managing Director of Australian spice company Herbie's Spices, tells 9honey Kitchen the problem may not be rectified until early 2026.
He explained the cost of pepper will increase due to "lower crop yields in most tropical countries where pepper is grown".
"The flowers on pepper vines are naturally pollinated during the monsoon as water runs down the hermaphrodite flowers and fertilises them," he explains.
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The impending shortage is due to a 'poor monsoon' season in the countries where pepper is grown. 9Honey
"Poor monsoons due to climate change mean less pollination and thus lower quantities of berries on each spike.
"Like all agricultural commodities, lower yields lead to higher prices."
Vietnam is the world's top black pepper producer, as well as India and Brazil. Some black pepper is grown in Tropical Far North Queensland.
In Vietnam, FOB (free on board, a shipping term) prices have risen to $US6.10–$6.20 ($9.39-$9.54) per kilo, up from $US4.30 ($6.62) per kilo in early 2023.
That's a price increase of approximately 43 per cent in less than two years.
Hemphill says the next monsoon will fall between now and September in India "and most tropical pepper-producing countries".
"Given the time for harvesting, drying, and marketing, then exporting, it will be unlikely to see prices coming down until early 2026," he adds.
"That of course assumes a good monsoon and a lack of global unrest!"
Vietnam is the world's top black pepper producer. Getty
The most affordable black pepper currently on sale at Herbie's Spices is the Peppercorns Black ASTA Whole at $9.75 per 100 grams.
Their high-quality range includes Black Super Grade pepper, lack Australian Grown, Black ASTA Whole, Green Freeze-Dried, Green Air-Dried for Mills, White Whole, and White Super Grade Whole.
More affordable options can be found at supermarkets.
Coles and Woolworths are selling whole black peppercorns for $2.25 per 100 grams in "refill" bags.
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More affordable pepper options can be found at supermarkets. 9Honey
At Aldi, customers can purchase black peppercorns in a grinder for $3.69 for a 50 gram mill.
Hemphill says the best way to store pepper to ensure flavour and quality is to keep it in "airtight packaging and away from extremes of heat, light and humidity".
"Best Before period is between one and two and three years," he added.
Food expert Jane de Graaff tells 9honey there it may be time for the "Tassie pepper market to boom as a result" of the overseas crop issues.
Although she says there are "lots of pepper alternatives so it's okay to branch out and try everything from szechuan pepper, to cayenne pepper, Tasmanian pepperberry and even nasturtium seeds and leaves".
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