Heat wave affects Kampot pepper production, Cambodian farmers expect production to drop sharply this year and next

(AFP, Kampot) - Kampot pepper has been grown for generations in two southwestern provinces of Cambodia, surviving the Khmer Rouge genocide and decades of political turmoil, but now it may be knocked out by global warming. A heat wave has swept across Southeast Asia in recent weeks, with record high temperatures covering the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. In parts of Cambodia, six months of drought have left farmers miserable, with temperatures reaching almost 43 degrees Celsius in late April, pushing them to the brink of collapse. Kampot pepper is produced in Kampot Province (K Kampot farmer Qinlun told reporters that due to the hot weather and lack of water, all his 264 pepper trees died. "The weather this year is too hot, there is no rain, and we have no water to irrigate the pepper trees, so they all died." Kampot pepper has a spicy flavor with a strong floral fragrance. It is loved by many restaurants and top chefs around the world. It is an internationally ...