Vietnam expects to export 1.7 mln tonnes of coffee this year

Harvesting coffee beans (Source: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam expects to export 1.7 million tonnes of coffee this year, earning about 3.5 billion USD, said Chairman of the Vietnam Coffee – Cocoa Association (VICOFA) Luong Van Tu. 

During a press conference recently held in Hanoi about the second Vietnam Coffee Day 2018, Tu said the global market share of Vietnamese coffee soared from 1 percent in 1991 to 17 percent in 2017. 

Vietnam is now the world’s second largest exporter of coffee beans and the largest robusta exporter. Coffee export accounts for nearly 10 percent of the country’s total shipment of agro-forestry-fisheries. 

Though the prices of arabica and robusta coffee hit 12-year and five-year low, respectively, processed coffee export is growing strongly, mostly ground and instant coffee. 

As many as 2.1 million packets of instant coffee, equivalent to 120,000 tonnes, were shipped abroad during the 2017-2018 crop. The 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. 

Almost processed coffee products are shipped abroad, many of them are popular and sold in Walmart chain in Chile, Brazil, Mexico and China. Instant coffee is also favoured at home with well-known brands such as Vinacafe, Trung Nguyen, Me Trang, Thang Loi and Minh Tien. 

Processed coffee has highly added value with prices of 70-100 million VND per tonne compared to 32-36 million VND per tonne in coffee beans. However, processed coffee accounts for nearly 10 percent of the total coffee beans nationwide. 

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development forecast that at least 25 percent of coffee beans will be processed into ground and instant coffee by 2020. 

In 2016, the Prime Minister allowed the designation of December 10 as Vietnam Coffee Day and decided to add high-quality coffee into the list of national products. 

Following the success of the first Vietnam Coffee Day held in Da Lat city, the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, the second edition themed “Sustainable Vietnamese coffee development” will take place in Gia Nghia town, the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong from December 9-11. 

As many as 33 foreign organisations and firms such as the World Coffee Organisation, the ASEAN Coffee Federation, the Asia Coffee Association and importers from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, India, Myanmar and Eastern African countries will attend the event. 

During the event, an exhibition with 50 stalls will introduce premium coffee products from prestigious businesses and coffee-growing areas.