MILAN – The coffee sector in Vietnam expects further losses during the second quarter of 2020 due to the Covid-19 outbreak and its impact on consumption and trades
Due to the lower demand, coffee processors have mainly used their inventories, Phan Xuan Thang, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Cocoa and Coffee Association (Vicofa), said in an interview with VNS.
The association said Vietnam’s coffee exports did not suffer from the pandemic in the first quarter because local coffee enterprises completed their export contracts signed last year, according to vietnambiz.vn.
The outlook is less optimistic optimistic for the coming months.
“The association has expected big sport and cultural events like the 2020 Summer Olympics to increase demand for beverages, especially coffee. However, those events have been postponed,” Thang said.
Some experts predict that import and export activities will be delayed everywhere due to the epidemic, which has forced many ports to close and making coffee prices unable to recover quickly.
In the first three months, Vietnam’s coffee export volume and value reached 474,000 tons and 801 million USD, down 3% in volume and 5.6% in value compared to the same period in 2019.
Data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shows that, up to March 15, Germany, the United States and Italy continued to be the three largest coffee consuming markets of Vietnam with a market share of 15.1% (USD 121.29 million); 10% (80.62 million USD) and 9.5% (76.91 million USD), respectively.
The average export price of coffee in the first three months reached 1,692 USD / ton, down 2.8% compared to the same period in 2019.
Compared to February 2020, the price of Robusta coffee in Tay Nguyen provinces decreased by 600 – 800 VND / kg to 30,500 VND-30,700VND/ kg. Compared to the end of 2019, the price of Robusta coffee in Tay Nguyen provinces decreased from 1,600 – 2,100 VND / kg.
The Import and Export Department stated by the end of March 2020, domestic Robusta coffee price has dropped to a record low in the last10 years.
