Kampot (pepper)

Kampot pepper (Khmer: ម្រេចកំពត, French: poivre de Kampot) is a cultivar of pepper (piper nigrum) grown and produced in Kampot Province, and Kep Province, Cambodia. It is a certified geographical indication (GI) product since 2010. There are two varieties, the Kamchay and the Lampong (or Belantoeung), locally known respectively as ‘small leaves’ and ‘big leaves’.[1] The name is derived from the area where it is grown, the province of Kampot, which previously included the later separated province of Kep. It was also known as poivre Indochine during the early 20th century under the French protectorate.[2]

Green pepper of Kampot
Kampot green peppers plants

Geographical area

Kampot pepper is grown in seven districts/cities in two southwestern provinces of Cambodia.[1]

Kampot Province

Kep Province

Production

Kampot pepper is organically grown and produced and sold in green, black, white and red varieties, all from the same plant.[3] The climate of Kampot Province offers perfect conditions for growing pepper and the quartz content of the soil in the foothills of the Elephant Mountains helps to give Kampot pepper its unique terroir.[4][5]

The growing conditions are only one of several elements of importance to the production of Kampot pepper. Knowledge of pepper cultivation and production has been handed down from generation to generation in Kampot Province since at least the 13th century. Storage conditions are also of importance and different qualities of Kampot pepper are produced and sold.[5]

Plantations are inspected by the Kampot Pepper Producers Association (KPPA) and by the independent certification body Eco-Cert. Only accredited members of the KPPA, adhering to the PGI criteria, are authorised to sell pepper using the “Kampot Pepper” appellation of origin.

History

Kampot pepper cultivation has a long history and was first described in the 13th century, during the Angkorian era, when the Chinese diplomat Zhou Daguan visited the area.[6] Modern intensive production was initiated under the French colonial rule in the 1870s and at the beginning of the 20th century, Cambodia harvested around 8,000 tons of Kampot pepper annually. In the 1960s, there were still 1 million pepper poles in Kampot, producing around 3,000[7] tons per year, but the production was severely affected by the Cambodian civil war and only 4 tons per year were harvested by the end of the 1990s.[5] In 2020, the total production of Kampot pepper was around 80 tonnes.[8]

Kampot pepper production slowly gained momentum in the 2000s when previous pepper farmers gradually returned to their lands.[9] As of July 2015, six districts in the southern province of Kampot have pepper farms, while the spice’s overseas market consists mostly of Europe, the United States, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.[10] As the first Cambodian product, Kampot pepper obtained the World Trade Organization’s Geographical Indication (GI) status in 2010, tying the quality of the product to its origin.[4] International demand for the product has risen since then. However, annual export volume is still relatively small, i.e. 58 tonnes was produced on 25 hectares for the year 2014.[11]

Use

Apart from the peppercorns, the stalks of Kampot pepper are also eaten, as in Kep, Cambodia where they are pan-fried with squid at the Crab Market.[12] Samai Distillery in Phnom Penh uses Kampot Red Pepper from La Plantation to produce its Kampot Pepper Rum.[13]

  • Kampot pepper crab featuring green Kampot peppercorns, garlic and spring onion.
  • Cambodian prawns with Kampot Pepper.
  • Kampot Pepper Rum spiced with Kampot Red Pepper (right) produced by Samai Distillery

Pepper in Cambodia
Main article: Agriculture in Cambodia

Pepper is an increasingly popular crop in Cambodia, not just in Kampot Province. In 2016, at the end of May, Cambodia had produced a total of 11,819 tonnes of black pepper, an increase of 20% compared to the same period of 2015. About 72% of that came from Tbong Khmum, which has over 2,762 hectares of pepper farmland. Comparably, Vietnam tops the list of pepper growing nations with a total crop of 155,000 tons in 2014; a 38.6% share of the global production.[14]

The world market price for pepper is currently favorable and many new pepper plantations are constructed across the country. In some regions, large pepper plantations are contributing to the already alarming deforestation in Cambodia.[14]

References
  1. "Product specification of the protected geographical indication: Kampot pepper". European Commission. 2015. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  2. Sullivan, Michael (March 14, 2020). "Cambodia's Prized Kampot Pepper, Nearly Wiped Out By Khmer Rouge, Makes A Comeback". National Public Radio. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  3. "Kampot Pepper". kampotpepper.biz. KPPA. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  4. Meredith Bethune (April 2014). "How the World's Best Pepper is Grown in Kampot, Cambodia". Serious Eats. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  5. George Edgar (1 November 2016). "Reaping what you sow". The Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  6. Him, Anna (2014). "Kampot Pepper Promotion Association" (PDF).
  7. Chan, Sok (January 5, 2021). "Ministry shares 2020 agri-export numbers". Khmer Times. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  8. Vong Sokheng (11 April 2003). "Daily grind for pepper paupers". The Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  9. Sok Chan (8 July 2015). "High 2015 yields for pepper growers". The Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  10. Cheng Sokhorng (13 November 2015). "Kampot pepper defying drought fears". The Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  11. Cambodia's Fresh Cuisine July 2011 Conde Nast Traveler page 30
  12. Sihan Lee. "Samai: A Tale of Cambodian Spirit". High Net Worth. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  13. Mech Dara, Igor Kossov (14 June 2016). "Pepper business adds to Kingdom's deforestation woes". The Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
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