Việt Nam exports US$3.5 billion worth of coffee in 2018

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam exported more than 1.8 million tonnes of coffee worth US$3.54 billion in 2018, marking year-on-year rises of 20 per cent and 1.2 per cent respectively.

A farmer havests coffee in the Central Highlands province of Đăk Lăk. — VNA/VNS Photo Phạm Cường

The average export price of coffee reached $1,883 per tonne, down 15.7 per cent versus 2017.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade forecasts Việt Nam will face difficulties exporting coffee in the first half of 2019 due to low global prices and declining domestic coffee output.

According to the Việt Nam Coffee – Cocoa Association, Việt Nam’s coffee output in 2018 declined by about a fifth due to the impacts of climate change and conversions to more high-yield crops.

Last year, Vietnam shipped 74,120 tonnes of coffee beans to Algeria alone, earning $132.48 million, up 56 per cent in volume and 28 per cent in value from 2017, the General Department of Việt Nam Customs reported. Coffee is the most popular drink in Algeria, with each person consuming more than 3kg of coffee annually.  The North African country imports about 130,000 tonnes of coffee beans worth around $300 million each year. Robusta coffee makes up more than 85 per cent of the total import value.

Apart from Việt Nam, the Ivory Coast, Indonesia, Brazil and Italy are also Algeria’s major coffee suppliers. Vietnamese Commercial Counselor to Algeria Hoàng Đức Nhuận said Algeria still had room for more Vietnamese coffee, which was expected to become the country’s top export item to Algeria. In 2018, Việt Nam’s coffee export turnover to Algeria accounted for 68 per cent of its accumulated export value. 

Việt Nam is now the world’s second largest exporter of coffee beans and the largest robusta exporter. Coffee exports account for nearly 10 per cent of the country’s total shipment of agro-forestry-fisheries.

Vietnamese instant coffee is now available in 70 countries and territories worldwide. There are 20 instant coffee processing plants across the country with a total capacity of 75,280 tonnes per year, not to mention hundreds of small-scale processing facilities with a total capacity of around 70,000 tonnes.