Vietnam coffee production overview

Introduced to Vietnamese farmers by French colonists in the 19th century, coffee has become embedded in the local culture as well as the economy. At that time, Vietnam was far from being a relevant coffee-producing nation, as it was responsible for around one percent of the world coffee trade before 1990. Heavy investment in coffee production under Doi Moi reforms in the mid-1980s made it possible for the coffee industry to achieve rapid growth, which led to its current position as the second-largest coffee-producing country in the world. The Robusta variety accounted for about 90 percent of its coffee production, as it is easy to grow in the Vietnamese climate. However, Robusta beans have the lowest average price among all types of coffee.

Vietnam’s coffee production has grown into an export-oriented industry over the last decades. More than 90 percent of its production volume had been exported, contributing billions of dollars to the total export earnings. In terms of coffee export volumes worldwide, Vietnam was only behind Brazil. While coffee beans still dominated the share of coffee exports from Vietnam, there has been a steady increase in the volume of exported soluble coffee in recent years.

Ref: Statista Jan2023 by Minh N Nguyen