Black pepper joins Brazil's FICC 2026 fair after US$296.6 million in Espírito Santo exports

Black pepper will be showcased for the first time at the Feira Internacional do Café Conilon (FICC) 2026, the Espírito Santo agribusiness fair running from 8 to 10 October in São Mateus, with organisers aiming to widen the spice's commercial base and build on the US$296.6 million it already generates in state exports. The Associação Brasileira de Pimenta do Reino e Especiarias (BSA), Brazil's pepper and spices association, will present the crop and the wider spice segment in a panel on Friday, 9 October, conexaosafra.com reported.

Espírito Santo shipped US$296.6 million in black pepper exports between January and October 2025, according to state government data cited by conexaosafra.com. The state is Brazil's largest black pepper producer and also holds a prominent position in the international trade of the product. The figure gives a sense of the spice's economic weight for the state economy.

Buyer requirements shape market access

The panel will bring producers, companies and sector representatives together around competitiveness, the demands of international buyers and ways to add value to production. Requirements that feature ever more prominently in negotiations with markets such as the United States and Europe directly affect the ability of Brazilian pepper to reach and remain in higher-value segments.

“Pepper has to meet increasingly strict standards. It is not enough to produce and export. You have to guarantee food safety, traceability, sustainability and residue control,” said Frank Moro, president of the BSA. “These are issues that have to be at the centre of the sector's decisions so that we can keep advancing in the international market.”

Prices seen as more stable

The BSA said the international pepper market is currently in a phase of greater stability, which it described as giving growers more security and opening room to discuss investment and planning at farm level. Moro said taking part in a fair of this scale allows the sector to show the importance of black pepper for Espírito Santo, pointing to a productive base that “generates income, moves business and has an important presence in the international market”. Being presented alongside coffee, he added, also demonstrates the strength and diversity of the state's agriculture.

Programme and wider context

FICC is in its second edition and gathers producers, companies, cooperatives and researchers from the conilon coffee chain to discuss technology, productivity, markets, logistics and business opportunities. Entry is free and the event is held in an area next to the Sesc in São Mateus. Sessions relevant to the trade include:

• Challenges and opportunities for the black pepper sector, with Frank Moro and Aureliano Nogueira of the BSA, on Friday at 10:00.
• The future of the market, with Marcus Magalhães, agribusiness market specialist and FICC curator, on Friday at 11:00.
• The port hub and the future of logistics in Espírito Santo, presented by Claudio Melim, commercial coordinator at Imetame Logística Porto, on Friday at 14:00.
• Climate as a decision factor in business, with Marco Antônio dos Santos of Rural Clima, on Thursday from 14:00 to 15:00.
• A field day on Saturday, including a technical visit to conilon coffee and pepper plantings.

Beyond black pepper, production in Espírito Santo is also a reference in pink pepper, obtained from the aroeira tree, adding a second front for the state in the spice market. “Black pepper is a product of great economic relevance in Espírito Santo, and discussing its challenges and opportunities inside an international fair broadens the view of the market and of what we can build from here on,” said Marcus Magalhães, the fair's curator.

FICC is organised by Adetur in partnership with the municipal government of São Mateus, with support from Sebrae and Brazil's Ministry of Entrepreneurship, Microenterprise and Small Business, and institutional backing from bodies including Fecomércio-ES, the OCB/ES system, Faes, Senar, the Centro do Comércio do Café de Vitória, the Conselho Nacional do Café, Abics, Abic and Cecafé.