The coffee export value in December 2021 increased by 26.2 percent compared to November 2021. (Photo: kinhtedothi.vn) To reachthis figure, experts believe that the domestic coffee industry needs toincrease the proportion of processed coffee products from less than 10 percentat present to about 25 percent or even more.
However, increasingthe proportion of processed coffee products is a big challenge for the industrydue to the level of technology, complex factory operation and awareness offarmers.
At present, Vietnamhas 160 coffee roasting facilities, 11 coffee blending facilities andeight instant-coffee processing facilities. The number of instant-coffeeprocessing facilities is small and most of them are operating below theirdesigned capacity.
On the otherhand, Vietnam's processed coffee brands still have no place in the worldmarket, and branding takes a lot of money and effort.
Deputy Ministerof Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai said that to gain the target of 6 billionUSD, Vietnam’s coffee industry needed to strengthen connectionbetween production and trade, expand export markets and develop productsassociated with brand building, towards building a sustainable coffee valuechain.
According toMinister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan, if the coffeeindustry wants to have sustainable development, there must be linkages amongprovinces or economic regions to form a larger-scale production area and builda brand for Tay Nguyen coffee.
The Ministryof Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) will continue to implement projectson sustainable development for the domestic coffee industry.
For theCentral Highlands provinces, the ministry will set up logistics infrastructurefor the coffee industry to create higher coffee value and more processedproducts. This will form a coffee production chain to increase value ofcoffee beans and income for coffee producers.
"TheEurope-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has opened up great opportunitiesfor the domestic coffee industry. In the future, the ministry will develop itsprojects on exporting agricultural products to the EU, including coffee. At thesame time, it will also have a strategy for Vietnamese agricultural products toenter large distribution systems in Europe," Hoan said.
"IfCentral Highlands coffee wants to reach out to the world market, it needs tochange production, harvesting and processing in accordance with climate changeand green consumption of the world market.”
The coffeeindustry needs to restructure effectively, including buildinga specialised cultivation area associated with the development ofcoffee processing; and application of advanced technology.
It needs topromote linkage of raw material areas with processing facilities to createa stable supply of quality goods, meeting the requirements of the market.
The industrymust have solutions to remove difficulties and support for farmers andbusinesses in attracting investment; apply science and technology forproduction; and improve quality of human resources.
In addition,branding must be paid more attention to. Now, the building and developing ofbrands have not been realised and effectively implemented by businesses.This is one reason why Vietnam's agricultural produce, including coffee,are unknown on the world market.
The localenterprises need to survey terms of market share, taste, quality, and price.They must determine the proportion of processed products to build a cleardevelopment direction, advertising, marketing and brand positioning strategies.
The Statewill support enterprises to build and develop their brands through campaigns oncommunication and image promotion, and training programmes on improving designability.
Export in2022
The globalcoffee price in 2022 is forecast to remain high. The COVID-19 pandemic haslimited supply from major coffee producing countries such as Colombia and someother South American countries, according to the association. Congestionat international ports is also predicted to be prolonged.
Currently,some roasters plan to mix Arabica and Robusta coffee to lower the selling pricedue to the lack of Arabica coffee supply.
In the longterm, this can change consumer tastes and make customers more accustomed todrinking Robusta coffee, and help Vietnam increase Robusta coffee exports.
Meanwhile,European, American and Asian consumers will also gradually know and likeVietnamese coffee beans.
Experts saidthat if local enterprises have strategies to enter strict export markets suchas the EU, the US and Japan, they will be promising markets for Vietnamesecoffee exports.
The coffeeindustry's strategy in the future is to develop processed coffee products, suchas roasted coffee and instant coffee, rather than focusing on the exportquantity of green coffee as at present.
According tothe experts, despite many challenges, developing the coffee processing industrywill be a key solution not only to increase export value but also to help thecoffee industry have sustainable development.
DeputyMinister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai said that in recent years, tradepromotion activities had been enhanced to develop the export market forcoffee products.
Under theNational Trade Promotion Programme, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)has coordinated with localities producing coffee, organisations and enterprisesto implement trade promotion activities, such as participation in specialisedexhibition of agricultural produce and food at home and abroad.
In 2021, Vietnam'scoffee exports reached 1.52 million tonnes, worth of about 3 billion USD, down2.7 percent in volume, but up 9.4 percent in value year on year. Last year, Vietnam mainlyexported Robusta coffee.
According tothe MoIT's Import and Export Department, loosening social distancing measuresdue to COVID-19 has created more favourable conditions for customsclearance, and higher coffee demand on the world market, which were the factorsto make Vietnam's coffee exports recover at the end of 2021.
The coffeeexports in December 2021 reached 130,000 tonnes, earning 305 million USD, up 21percent in volume and 26.2 percent in value compared to November 2021.
The averageexport price of Vietnam's coffee in December 2021 reached 2,344 USD per tonne,the highest level since June 2017. The price increased by 4.3 percentmonth-month and 28.7 percent year-on-year.
The averageexport price for the whole of 2021 was estimated at 1,969 USD per tonne, up12.4 percent compared to 2020.
However, toincrease the export turnover, the core factor is still the development ofprocessed coffee products. In 2021, Vietnam's deep-processed coffee exportswere only 121,000 tonnes, earning 433 million USD. Thus, the volume onlyaccounted for 8 percent, while the export turnover of processed coffee productsaccounted for 15 percent of the total turnover./.
VNA
