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Coffee exports fall in value, volume
The coffee industry in the first eight months of the year saw a decline in both export volume and value, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
During this period, the industry exported 840,000 tonnes of coffee, earning export revenue of US$1.2 billion, the ministry said.
It added that the figures were a 1.3 per cent decline in volume and 4.7 per cent fall in value.
In August, the country earned $140 million from exporting 90,000 tonnes of coffee.
In the first eight months of the year, average coffee prices stood at about $1,415 per tonne, a year-on-year decline of 4.6 per cent.
Doan Trieu Nhan, from the Viet Nam Coffee and Cocoa Association, affirmed that although Vietnamese robusta coffee was of high quality, there were serious shortcomings in harvesting and processing resulting in lower prices than that of other countries including Indonesia.
"Farmers can't afford to build cement yards or buy machines to dry coffee so they are failing to ensure consistent quality," Nhan said.
To address this issue, Nhan suggested the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) establish a quality control standard.
"The standard will help managers prevent low-quality coffee from being exported, and will protect the prestige of the national coffee industry. It will also provide both sellers and buyers a guarantee on place of origin and quality of coffee", Nhan said.
He added that Vietnamese coffee exports would strongly develop in the near future, but only when the industry had good management.
Bui Ba Bong, MARD's Deputy Minister demanded that provinces develop policies to help local farmers build cement yards or buy coffee drying equipment.
"Processing coffee in farmer households is very important. It directly affects the quality of the coffee," Bong said.
vietnamnews
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