Vietnam has become the world's largest coffee exporter.

Over the past six months, Vietnam's coffee exports have been 13.6% higher than Brazil's. Honduras also unexpectedly surpassed rivals Indonesia, Colombia, and India to rise to third place in the world.

According to the International Coffee Organization (ICO) June 2012 statistics report, global coffee exports in June reached 9,580,000 bags, a 5.2% increase compared to the 9,110,000 bags exported in June 2011. (bag = 60kg)

Global coffee exports in the first nine months of the 2011/12 coffee year (October 2011 to June 2012) decreased by 0.3% to 81,160,000 bags compared to 81,410,000 bags during the same period of the 2010/2011 coffee year.

The ICO also reported that Vietnam's coffee exports in June 2012 reached 2,075,000 bags, a decrease of 625,000 bags, or 23.15%, compared to the previous month, but still maintained its leading position in the world for the fifth consecutive month in coffee exports.

In the first six months of the year, Vietnam exported 14,325,000 bags, taking the leading position in coffee exports among producing countries worldwide, 13.63% more than the second-ranked exporting country, Brazil, which exported 12,606,000 bags.

According to customs statistics, Vietnam's coffee exports in June reached 140,917 tons with a value of US$303.51 million, bringing the total exports for the first six months of the year to 1,048,119 tons with a value of US$2.2 billion. The average export price for the month was US$2,154 per ton, an increase of 2.57% compared to the average price of the previous month.

The agricultural sector is projected to export 160,000 tons of coffee in July, with a value of 336 million USD. Estimated coffee exports for the first seven months reached 1.2 million tons, with a value of 2.5 billion USD, representing an increase in both volume (31.6%) and value (25.4%) compared to the same period last year.

However, it is worth noting that Robusta coffee still accounts for a large proportion, resulting in very low revenue; while Arabica coffee, which has high value, remains modest in exports.

Meanwhile, the price difference between Arabica and Robusta coffee has been widening: from $880/ton in 2009, the difference had more than doubled by 2011.

According to Vicofa's data, in the three years from 2009 to 2011, Vietnam's Arabica coffee exports to world markets increased significantly, from 24,000 tons in 2009 to 41,000 tons in 2010 and reaching 50,000 tons in 2011. Along with this, export prices doubled, from US$2,313/ton in 2009 to US$4,261/ton in 2011. Simultaneously, the price difference between Arabica and Robusta coffee widened. In 2011, the export price of Arabica was US$4,261/ton, while that of Robusta was US$2,099/ton.

Vietnamese coffee and tea products are increasingly highly regarded for their quality by importers worldwide, even in demanding markets such as the United States, Germany, Japan, and Belgium. However, we currently do not have enough coffee to export; farmers are selling raw coffee and tea at 70 million VND per ton, but supply still cannot meet demand.

According to the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association (Vicofa), Vietnam could export approximately 55,000 tons of coffee in the 2011-2012 crop year. However, to improve the quality of Vietnamese coffee, the coffee industry needs to consider factors such as regional planting planning, research on improved varieties, and enhancement of processing quality.

Recognizing the potential of Arabica coffee for the global market, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has set a target of planting approximately 40,000 hectares of Arabica coffee nationwide by 2020, accounting for 8% of the total coffee growing area in the country.

According to (vov.vn) - LT