5:32:08 PM | 4/11/2008
Vietnam reportedly earned over US$2 billion from coffee export during the 2007-2008 season, according to figures released by the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association (Vicofa) at a meeting in HCM City Oct 31.
It is the third season the coffee sector has gained over US$1 billion in export, said Luong Van Tu, chairman of the Vicofa at the meeting.
Vietnam is now home to some 520,000 hectares of coffee, and its raw coffee export have been exported to 75 countries and territories. Among them, Germany, the United States, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Japan, the Republic of Korea, France and Britain are said to buy the largest amount of Vietnam’s coffee.
However, Vietnam has exported a little amount of processed coffee. It has mainly been sold at domestic markets. For exports, processed coffee has mainly brought to Canada, Germany, the United States, Australia and the Republic of Korea.
Despite a large exporter of coffee, each year Vietnam has imported coffee to satisfy the demand and business. In the first eight months of the year, the nation imported US$7.8 million from 15 countries mainly from Laos, China, Singapore and Switzerland.
According to Vicofa, the coffee sector will harvest some 1 million tons in the 2008-2009 season, an equivalent amount compared to the previous season.
The association has worked out some solutions to the production and processing of coffee as the world market situation is seeing complex changes. The solutions include applying Good Agriculture Practice (GAP) insect protection measure (IPM) and Good Manufacturing Practice or GMP, and seeking ways to lower the production price by reasonably using fertilizers and watering coffee.
The association has also targeted to expand the production of value added coffee products and focused on food safety, and asked the Government for capital priority and reasonable interest rate for the coffee sector in the 2008-2009 season. (Vietnam Economic Times)
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