Vietnam not to Expand Coffee Area in 2009
Vietnam will not increase coffee area next year as export prices of coffee are forecast to decline by between 5 per cent and 8 per cent from 2008, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The ministry said Vietnam exported 60,000 tons of coffee worth US$102 million in November 2008, raising the export revenue in the first eleven months of this year to US$1.78 billion.
Export prices of coffee continued falling since early November to only US$1,700 a ton, down 2 per cent from the same period of last year, the ministry said.
Vietnam now has around 520,000 hectares under coffee cultivation, mostly in central highlands and southeastern region. (Saigon Liberation)
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