Do you know there is coffee in Laos? Laos Coffee introduction |

The main coffee growing area in Laos is the high-altitude Boravan Plateau, where there is volcanic red soil, where coffee plants thrive. Coffee plant varieties include Arabica coffee, Robusta coffee and Liberika coffee.

The French first introduced coffee plants to the region in the 1920s, and the French designated its fertile soil plateau as the main coffee growing area.

The Boravan Plateau (Bolaven Plateau) consists of three southern provinces: Saravan, Champasak and Sekong (Sekong), located west of the border between the central highlands of Vietnam and north of the Cambodian border.

Coffee production in Laos

Laos has a large population (nearly 7 million people) and a vast area for coffee cultivation, showing great potential for coffee production in the future. However, this landlocked country has experienced wars and conflicts, with more than 1/4 people living in poverty.

Although many people use opium as the only economic opportunity, coffee is gradually becoming a substitute.

In the 1990s, the European Union funded a coffee planting program in Laos, but failed because of a lack of market for the product. However recent efforts to revitalize important coffee production in Laos are bearing fruit. Hundreds of thousands of coffee trees have been planted in some areas and this crop is replacing opium. The town of Paksong in Laos is considered to be the "coffee capital".

Historically, most Lao coffee beans have been sold to middlemen, who in turn sold them to the Soviet Union and other communist allies.

At present, the United States is developing new markets for Lao coffee, focusing on the production of high-end organic Arabica coffee, which is sold in the form of specialty coffee rather than low-grade robusta commercial coffee. This has led to higher returns for farmers and an incentive to increase the production of quality coffee in Laos. Although coffee production is still relatively low, coffee production is expected to increase in the next few years with the overall quality of Lao coffee and the improvement in cultivation, harvesting and processing.

Laos coffee brand

A company in Laos called Saffron Coffee provides coffee beans grown by the world tribal city of Luang Prabang (Laos along the Mekong River) in the World Heritage city of Luang Prabang (Luang Prabang) by mountain tribes such as Mien, Kemu, Hmong and Garshak. Saffron coffee is a cool organic Arabica coffee grown in Luang Prabang plateau above 800 meters above sea level, generally washed.

Laos coffee export

In the early 1990s, Laos produced about 83000 bags of coffee (about 5000 tons), which has now more than tripled. Most of Laos' coffee is exported to France.

Although coffee production in Laos is expected to continue to grow rapidly, it is limited by labour shortages. However, due to the adoption of better planting methods, the yield per acre will certainly increase, and the improvement in the quality of coffee beans may also lead to higher returns and will be respected in the Lao specialty coffee market.

At present, the coffee crop in Laos is mainly low-quality robusta coffee, and the planting of high-quality Arabica coffee is increasing in recent years. Laos also grows a very small amount of Liberika coffee.