VN coffee industry has huge potential: seminar

HCM CITY – The Vietnamese coffee industry has great potential to develop considering the size of the global market and the country’s small share in it, according to the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development. Speaking at a seminar on the New Development Period of Việt Nam’s Coffee Industry in Đà Lạt, Agriculture minister Nguyễn Xuân Cường said: “The global coffee-based beverage market is worth US$500 billion a year while Việt Nam’s exports account for just $3.4 billion. So there is room for the country to increase exports. “In addition, with nearly 100 million people, of whom 65 per cent are young, the domestic market also has great potential.” José Sette, executive director of the International Coffee Organisation, said there is enormous potential for growth in coffee demand, especially in countries with large populations like China, India and Indonesia, since “per capita rates in these markets were still well below those in traditional markets.” Lương Văn Tự, chairman of the Việt Nam Coffee Association, said Việt Nam has been the world’s second largest coffee producer and exporter since the early 2000s. Its exports of roasted and ground coffee and soluble coffee accounted for only 10 per cent last year, he said. But the coffee sector is facing several problems like small scale of production, ageing coffee trees, poor quality control, and outdated processing technologies. Some 150,000ha need to be replanted in the next five, a big challenge for the sector, he said. To retain the country’s position of second largest coffee producer… [Read full story]