HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam – The domestic coffee price has shot up from VND33,000-35,000 per kilogram in April to VND40,000-41,000 owing to higher global prices of the commodity.
Statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development showed the average export price of coffee was US$1,698 per ton in April, up nearly 18% year-on-year, and reached US$1,713 per ton in May and US$1,754 per ton in July.
Vietnam shipped abroad 1.27 million tons of coffee worth US$2.25 billion in the first eight months of this year, soaring nearly 40% in volume and 21% in value over the same period last year.
Nguyen Nam Hai, vice president of the Vietnam Coffee and Cacao Association (Vicofa), said the coffee price has rebounded after a period of decline, encouraging local farmers and firms to step up sales. As a result, coffee stocks are down at the end of the 2015-2016 crop.
He said last year many businesses stocked up on coffee beans in anticipation of a price hike but the price dropped. This year, traders sold out their beans when prices increased as the new crop will start soon.
The coffee crop in Vietnam usually starts from October and harvest ends the following year. Some coffee farmers in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong said the 2016-2017 crop may start several weeks later than usual due to drought in the Central Highlands.
Vicofa said it is difficult to forecast the coffee price at the beginning of the next crop. The association predicted that coffee output in the 2016-2017 crop would drop by 20-25% year-on-year due to drought.
Coffee often rises when the world’s leading exporting countries such as Brazil and Vietnam announce output falls. Its price is also driven by speculation.
However, Vicofa said the coffee price on global markets cannot be decided by producing countries only.
Ngoc Hung
