 Workshop on boosting Vietnam's coffee production is held at the 7th Coffee Festival in Buon Ma Thuot city, Dak Lak province in March, 2019 |
Vietnam has more than 660,000 ha of coffee, mainly in Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, and Lam Dong province. Last year Vietnam exported more than 1.9 million tons of coffee earning more than 3.5 billion USD, accounting for 14% of global market share, and ranking 2nd in the world. Despite high export prices, coffee exports grow only 6.57% per year because of low product added value and fluctuations on the global market.
Specialty coffee – new path for Vietnam’s coffee production
Vietnam is working hard to improve the quality of its coffee products and expand the market of specialty coffee, which accounts for only 2% of total global coffee volume. Despite its small market share, its added value is high, 5 to 10 times higher than conventional coffee. At a seminar, Trinh Duc Minh, President of the Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Association, said Dak Lak province has potential to produce specialty coffee, a way to improve the brands of Vietnamese coffee and increase the incomes of coffee farmers. Mr. Minh said: “Vietnam is entering the market of specialty coffee quite late. But we can learn from other countries’ experience to produce coffee at international standard.”
Increasing value of Vietnamese coffee
At the festival, Dak Lak province has introduced incentives to encourage enterprises and producers to enter the specialty coffee market. Nguyen Hai Ninh, Chief Organizer of the Festival, said: “We want to promote specialty coffee because it’s a global trend and it earns higher profits. We have a large coffee production and high export value, but we need to focus on this market segment to increase farmers’ earnings.”
Mr. Trinh Duc Minh said a sustainable, comprehensive, and long-term strategy is needed to boost the development of coffee production in the Central Highlands: “We need to find ways to increase the value of Vietnamese coffee. It’s important to increase links between producers and buyers and encourage the development of high quality products. We also need to create a chain of specialty coffee production and consumption at home and overseas.”
Vietnam now has 50 specialty coffee producers with a total output of 200 tons annually. Some of them have invested in labs, quality assessment and vocational training. Mr. Minh said specialty coffees should be listed as national high-quality goods, and that more incentives and mechanisms that encourage production and investment and connect supply and demand are needed.