In the Central Highlands region, the major coffee production hub of Vietnam, coffee prices have risen strongly last week and hit a record in three months.

On June 7, domestic coffee prices varied from 61,200-61,800 VND (2.61-2.63 USD) per kilo, up 500 VND over the previous day.

Meanwhile, the average price of exported coffee in the first give months of this year was 2,295 USD per tonne, up 2.4% over the same period last year, which means coffee export revenue will be high in the rest of the year.

Vice President of the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association (Vicofa) Do Ha Nam held that the rise in coffee prices is due to a shortage in supply as a result of extreme weather conditions. This year, coffee output is predicted to fall 10-15%, while demands for the product is high.

Along with export, many localities have focused on boosting the sustainable development of the domestic market, with the coming into being of many Vietnamese coffee brands.

Last year, Dak Lak province in the region saw more than 250 coffee processing facilities established to provide products for the domestic and foreign markets.

Le Duc Huy, General Director of Simexco DakLak Ltd, said that last year, the firm shipped abroad 101,000 tonnes of green coffee, and sold about 25,000 tonnes in the domestic market.

Under a project to develop Vietnamese specialty coffee in the 2021-2030 period that was approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in 2025, the area of specialty coffee is expected to account for 2% of the country’s total coffee area, with an output of 5,000 tonnes. The figures are hoped to increase to 3% and 11,000 tonnes in 2030.

Huy said that Vietnamese exporters are switching their focus from quantity to quality to better meet the demands of importers’ demands./. VNA