Vietnam to quadruple sustainable arabica coffee production
HANOI - The Vietnam's coffee industry plans to quadruple the area dedicated to sustainable production of Arabica variety coffee beans, said an official.
Doan Trieu Nhan, Vice President of the Vietnam Coffee-Cacao Association, said that with this plan, the industry will be able to reduce its total cultivated land from 500,000 ha to 400,000 ha while still maintaining its current output value, thus saving land and water.
Surveys have found that in Vietnam, only the mountainous province of Lang Son in the north, with an elevation of 600m above sea level, and the basaltic Central Highlands, 800m over the sea level, are ideal for high-quality Arabica coffee. The industry therefore plans to invest in large-scale farming of Arabica coffee in these regions for high quality products.
Prices of Arabica coffee in the world market are between 2 and 2.5 times higher than those of Robusta, he said.
Vietnam has emerged as the world's second-largest coffee exporter, after Brazil, with annual export values of between US$500-600 million.
The industry provides jobs for some 2.6 million people. Seasonal workers in the industry make up three percent of the agricultural workforce, helping reduce high under-employment rates in rural areas.
Vietnam News Agency - December 8, 2005.
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