HCMC – Although Vietnam is the world’s second biggest coffee exporter, around 90% of Vietnamese coffee products are mainly exported as raw beans, resulting in low export revenue.
“Vietnam’s Robusta coffee has yet to get trademark protection certificates from any country,” Thai Nhu Hiep, vice chairman of the Vietnam Coffee Cocoa Association (Vicofa), said.
Ho Van Muoi, chairman of the Dak Nong People’s Committee, said that raw coffee beans accounts for 99% of the province’s coffee export volume while the country’s figure is 90%.
Gia Lai has around 99,000 hectares under coffee cultivation, 80 coffee processing factories and facilities. The proportion of its processed coffee accounts for about 5.7% and the rest is exported as raw beans.
Vietnam should focus on growing coffee varieties with international certificates such as 4C, Rainforest & UTZ, and Organic, according to experts at the “How to increase coffee export value” workshop held by Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper and the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development.
Increasing the proportion of processed coffee products is also a solution to add value to Vietnamese coffee. Each container of Meet More coffee is valued 5-6 times higher than raw coffee beans, said Nguyen Ngoc Luan, CEO of Global Trading Connection Company.
Many experts believe it is necessary to address the root issues of the coffee industry, such as origin, quality, and brand building. Additionally, the Government needs to develop a plan to support businesses in borrowing loans, such as reducing interest rates.
Vietnam is currently the world’s largest producer of Robusta coffee and ranks second in coffee exports. The export value reached a record high of over US$4 billion in 2022, up 32% compared to the previous year, mainly due to reasonable prices and the global coffee undersupply.
