Robusta king Vietnam to start branding its coffee
HANOI - Vietnam, the world's top exporter of robusta beans, wants to start putting its name on its coffee in an attempt to raise its profile and expand sales.
Most of Vietnam's coffee beans end up anonymously in instant coffee that is marketed by large roasters such as Nestle SA .
But the southeast Asian country wants to change that image and expects to register an appellation of origin "Ca phe Buon Ma Thuot", or Buon Ma Thuot coffee, after the capital town of Vietnam's main growing province of Daklak in its coffee belt.
An official at Daklak's Science and Technology Department that is developing the branding project told Reuters on Wednesday an application to register the appellation would be submitted to Vietnam's intellectual property department by February 2005.
The coffee's appellation of origin also serves as a guarantee of quality as it indicates where the beans were produced and their specific quality and characteristics.
"The project is aimed at developing the prestige of Vietnam's coffee and expanding markets," the official said. "We reckon our application will be approved in April."
The People's Committee of Daklak, which produces around 400,000 tonnes of beans a year or 45 percent of Vietnam's coffee output, is funding the project with 190 million dong ($12,096) and will own the coffee name, the official said.
The coffee branding development is part of a series of actions Vietnam is taking to boost its coffee export value.
Early this month the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association organised a seminar to educate Daklak coffee exporters on the London robusta futures market and will select several firms to trade on that market on a trial basis in the near future.
Other coffee producing countries such as Colombia, Jamaica and Kenya brand and advertise their coffee. ($1=15,707 dong)
Reuters - September 22, 2004.
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