Vietnam still No.2 coffee exporter

Nguyen Nam Hai, vice president of the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association (Vicofa), said the country remains the second largest exporter of the drink in the world, second only to Brazil, accounting for 8.3% of the global market share.

Coffee is one of the six agricultural products that bring back over US$3 billion per year for Vietnam. It is now present in more than 80 countries and territories, mainly the European Union (EU), the US, Russia, Japan, and the UK.

Yet, the value of coffee is not high as most of it is exported raw.

According to Vicofa, the average price for a tonne of processed coffee is nearly US$3,600 while that of coffee beans is only about US$2,400.

To improve the situation, enterprises have promoted processing instead of exporting coffee beans. Currently, roasted and instant coffee is accounting for 9.1% of the total exports, creating opportunities for the industry as Vietnam is penetrating deeper into the international market through free trade agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Europe-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

The EU is Vietnam’s largest coffee market, accounting for 40% of the country's total volume and 38% of the total value. It is followed by the Association of Southeast Asia Nations with 13%. Over the past five years, the export value to the EU has reached between US$1.2 billion - 1.4 billion per year. Vietnamese coffee also accounts for 30% of the total coffee import of China- the world’s most populous market.

For the next 10 years, Vicofa aims to raise coffee export turnover to between US$5 and 6 billion, Hai said, adding that the export of processed will be increased for a higher added value.

According to Vicofa, the country has 97 coffee processing establishments with a total designed capacity of 1.5 million tonnes.