MILAN – Vietnam has sent the first shipment of coffee to the European Union since the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) took effect in August. A total of 296 tonnes coffee from the Gia Lai province packed into 14 containers are bound for the German port of Hamburg and the Belgian port of Antwerp, report local media.
The Gia Lai-grown coffee consignment, weighing a total of 296 tonnes and packed into 14 containers, began its journey on September 16 and is bound for Germany’s Hamburg and Belgium’s Antwerp, report local media.
Under the Agreement, tariffs on all Vietnamese coffee products, including unroasted, roasted and processed coffee will be eliminated, while the EU also pledges to protect geographical indications for Vietnamese coffee.
Coffee is one of Vietnam’s 13 key agricultural products and contributes 3% of the country’s GDP, said deputy agriculture minister Le Quoc Doanh, adding that it is providing jobs and incomes for over 600,000 households, mainly in the Central Highlands.
Deputy minister Doanh stated that Vietnam’s coffee industry is striving to meet the EU’s standards on quality and sustainable development, making Vietnam the reference point for global Robusta coffee.
Vietnam exported 1.15 million tonnes of coffee in the first eight months of this year, down 2.1% from the same period in 2019.
