Coffee prices in Vietnam climb to a six-year high

Coffee prices in Vietnam hit a six-year high after harvests were hit by rains due to a lack of high-quality export beans.

Robusta coffee beans cost VND 46,500 (USD 2.04) per kg in the Central Highlands of Lam Dong province and VND 47,300 (USD 2.08) per kg in Tha Lak province. This is the highest level since September 2011, when coffee prices climbed to VND 47,400 per kg.

Vietnam first faced water shortages during the dry season, and then unseasonal rainfall in the Central Highlands from October to December last year has severely affected the 2016-17 harvest in terms of both yield and quality.

The International Coffee Organization reported that Vietnam's coffee production has fallen by 11% from the previous season so far. In 2016, 134600 hectares of coffee trees in the region declined, while nearly 7900 hectares of trees either died or did not produce coffee beans.

There are 576800 hectares of coffee trees in the Central Highlands, accounting for 89% of the total coffee cultivation. Vietnam produces one-fifth of the world's coffee beans.

It is currently the dry season in the Central Highlands and water shortages are a major problem. The Central Highlands Steering Committee recently confirmed that the area is able to provide sufficient water resources through irrigation projects, rivers, streams and wells to irrigate coffee trees until the end of the dry season.