‘Cheaper imports from Vietnam, via Sri Lanka, benefiting from duty pacts; southern producers in a fix’ A sharp fall in the price of black pepper, coupled with low production of the spice, has put farmers in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka — the three major pepper producing States in the country — in a fix.Black pepper prices crashed from ₹760 a kg in 2017 to ₹600 a kg and then to ₹500 a kg. The spot price of pepper in Wayanad, a major pepper-producing region in Kerala, on Tuesday, was ₹300-₹310 as against ₹500 during the corresponding period last year, said M.C. Abdu of Ideal Spices, a pepper dealer in Wayanad.“The influx of imported pepper from Vietnam via Sri