Vietnam shows strong coffee production

While coffee may be harder to source in Brazil in recent times, Vietnam has plenty of coffee available, Volcafe reported in its market review in mid April. “The Vietnamese internal market, unlike Brazil’s, is extremely liquid,” the coffee trading arm of ED&F Man said in a statement. “Exporters could purchase good quantities in the last few days.” Volcafe noted that most factories and warehouses were fully in stock, and that this good supply was expected to continue until the end of the crop. This strong supply follows on from an increase in exports in February, which the International Coffee Organisation (ICO) estimated at 2 million bags. This is a 28.2 per cent increase over the same time last year. This was mostly attributed to an increase in prices, rather than an increase in production.  Total ICO estimates, however, from Vietnam for the coffee year 2013-14 are still estimated to be lower at 7.3 million bags, compared to 9.2 million bags for 2012-13. Vietnam continues to see improvements in the quality of its coffee, especially via geographical recognition of the Buon Ma Thuot region. Trung Nguyen, Vietnam’s largest coffee company with a strong and growing regional influence, has helped improve the local quality by providing training to local coffee farmers. Trung Nugyen has helped introduce the UTZ certified model to villagers, and has sent experts to teach farmers cultivation techniques. Trung Nguyen has also made a significant investment, installing Isreali drip irrigation systems to support farmers coping with deranged weather.   Trung Nguyen is currently running a campaign to promote Buon Ma Thuot coffee. Ask your importer about the quality coffees available from Buon Ma Thuot.