Awakening the world to Son La coffee brands

Planting coffee has helped the northwestern province of Son La eradicate hunger and reduce poverty. Coffee has become a key industrial crop grown in the province and has been firmly positioned in both domestic and global markets.

With nearly 20,000ha yielding 30,000 tonnes each year, Son La currently tops the list of Arabica coffee planting localities nationwide. Its coffee plantations are concentrated in the city of Son La and the two districts of Mai Son and Thuan Chau.

In the past, Son La Province exported mostly raw coffee beans. In the past five years, however, domestic coffee companies have increased investment in processing to supply the market with various kinds of products, such as those used for modern-style coffee makers, traditional-style coffee filters, and instant coffee, under brands that have become familiar to consumers, such as Zabica and Minh Tien.

In the opinion of experts, the quality of Son La’s Arabica coffee is not inferior to Brazilian Arabica coffee. The soil and climatic conditions in the locality are favorable for planting Arabica coffee.

Son La’s coffee products have won the trust of domestic and foreign consumers. Planting coffee has helped enrich the lives of more than 16,000 farming households in the province.

Aware of the economic value of coffee, local authorities have decided to list it among key types of industrial crops to promote economic restructuring. The provincial agricultural sector has provided technical guidance for coffee farmers, while encouraging businesses to join linkages in planting and selling coffee products. Son La Province has created various mechanisms and policies to support and develop coffee planting in a sustainable manner.

Since 2014, the province has provided support for seven households in Chieng Ban Commune of Mai Son District, 35 households in Chieng Co Commune of the city of Son La, and two households in Phong Lai Commune of Thuan Chau District to pilot drip irrigation using Israeli technology. The results show that coffee plantations using drip irrigation systems with Israeli technology provide higher yields compared with those not using this irrigation technology.

The province has paid special attention to registering protected coffee products and managing the use of the “Son La” geographic indicator for coffee products.

As a result of its efforts, on September 28, 2017, Son La Province received a certificate of protected geographical indication for its coffee products.

Protected geographical indication lays the firm foundation for Son La coffee to enter the global market and helps promote sustainable development of the domestic coffee sector.