Pepper in Cambodia and in Kampot

At the end of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th Kampot saw a real « pepper fever ».
The Chinese explorer Tchéou Ta Kouan described Cambodian pepper production as early as the 13th century, but intensive pepper production dates from the beginning of the Aceh war in Indonesia (1873-1908). The sultan of Aceh – who did not want to leave its wealth to its Dutch enemies - burned down its pepper plantations in 1873-1874. Part of the production then moved to Cambodia in the Kampot region.

In1930, in the book “Un empire colonial français, l'Indochine”, under the direction of G. Maspero, it is noted that “pepper is by far the main colonial export crop. Almost all the pepper consumed in France - 2.100 tonnes in 1927; 2600 tonnes in 1928 - comes from Indochina, even more so since the April 1928 custom law allows unlimited imports of pepper from the colonies. The French colony exports even more: 3.416 tones in average since 3 years, 4.235 tones in 1927. Production almost disappeared from the Cochinchine region where it was in the hands of Hainan Chinese growers in the Hatien province but is maintained in Cambodia. “

Pepper has a long history in Kampot and has always been one of the main industries of the region. Its flavour and its pugnacity made it one of the best peppers in the world – the unchallenged king of spice in the kitchens of the most renowned French chefs. Unfortunately the events that took place in Cambodia destroyed the majority of the production. Infrastructures were destroyed, tools and machineries disappeared and the education level dropped drastically. Today, nearly 35% of the population lives below the poverty line (0.33 € per person per day).