Dak Lak, March 11 (VNA) – Coffee productionareas across many Vietnamese provinces, including Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Son La andLam Dong, are endowed with crop varieties, weather conditions and soils thatare suitable to develop speciality coffee, according to experts.

The statement was made at a workshop held inBuon Ma Thuot city, the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak on March10, withparticipating officials, experts and producers discussing ways to developVietnamese speciality coffee.

Vietnam has about 664,000 hectares of coffeeplantations. It sells coffee to 80 countries and territories worldwide for morethan 3 billion USD annually, accounting for 14 percent of global market shareand 10.4 percent of global export value. However, only 7 percent of exportedVietnamese coffee products are processed.

Speciality coffee refers to the entireprocess from farmer to cup using single origin coffee of unique flavourprofiles gained from a special geographic microclimate. Growing this kind ofcoffee could offer a path to higher earnings. 

Vietnam should work to prove that thecountry not only owns abundant sources of good coffee but also has speciality coffee,stressed Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Le QuocDoanh at the workshop.

Currently, the country has 50 speciality coffeeproducers, which annually supply 200 tonnes of the product. Some of them haveinvested in labs, quality assessment and vocational training.

Chairman of the Buon Ma Thuot CoffeeAssociation Trinh Duc Minh said speciality coffee should be listed as anational high-quality goods, while incentives and mechanisms that encourageproduction and investment, and connect supply and demand are needed.

Vice Chairman of the Lam Dong People’sCommittee Pham S shared that the province has selected Di Linh and Lam Ha todevelop speciality coffee with a focus on applying advanced technologies,defining market segments and advertising.

Mauel Diaz. P, a Mexican coffee expert, saidVietnam is the world second biggest robusta exporter but the value it hasearned remains modest.

The expert recommended the country build astricter standard for local production, and boost quality based on technologyapplication rather than fertilisers. Speciality coffee remains new toVietnamese, thus its promotion in the domestic market should be made apriority.

Deputy Minister Doanh said the MARD iscommitted to supporting local authorities and businesses in building adevelopment roadmap for speciality coffee. He urged farmers and firms to takepart in the process, focusing on quality improvement and product promotion.-VNA