Vietnam exported 85,000 tons of pepper, worth 554 million U.S. dollars in the first six months of this year, making the country the world's top pepper exporter, according to Vietnam's General Statistics Office on Monday.

The figures posted a year-on-year increase of 22.2 percent in volume and 17.3 percent in value, despite the average pepper export price falling over 4 percent to stand at 6,554 U.S. dollars per ton.

The United States and Germany were the largest importers of Vietnamese pepper during the reviewed period, accounting for 33 percent of the country's total export value.

Demands from those two markets increased sharply, with their export growth reaching 93.5 percent and 20.4 percent respectively in volume, and 84.1 percent and 15.2 percent in value on a year-on- year basis.

The Vietnam Pepper Association (VPA) predicted that this year the country would harvest about 90,000 - 95,000 tons, from 60,000 hectares of land under pepper cultivation.

VPA also reported that about 10,000-15,000 tons of pepper imported from other countries would be used for "re-export", bringing the total pepper amount eligible for export to 105,000 110,000 tons this year.

Last year, the country exported 119,000 tons of pepper, worth 808 million U.S. dollars. Vietnamese pepper is now available in more than 80 countries and territories worldwide.