Harvested coffee beans. Việt Nam’s coffee production in the 2023-24 crop is expected to reach 1.6-1.7 million tonnes. — VNA/VNS Photo Dư Toán

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam shipped 230,000 tonnes of coffee abroad in January, earning US$623 million, up 61.6 per cent in volume and 100.3 per cent in value year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

In the last days of the Year of the Cat, the average coffee price in the Central Highland provinces continued to increase compared to the previous week. Coffee is being purchased at prices ranging from VNĐ78,200-79,400 (US$3.2-3.25) per kg in some localities. With the current upward trend, domestic coffee prices are likely to exceed VNĐ80,000 per kg soon.

A surge in domestic coffee prices was attributed to the fact that traders actively purchased coffee before the Lunar New Year (Tết) holiday while exporters were afraid of supply shortages like last year so they tended to buy more.

The coffee output of the 2023-24 crop in Đắk Lắk Province is forecast to reach 580,000 tonnes, thus the coffee export volume is estimated at 330,000 tonnes. If prices stay as high as they are now and fluctuate slightly in the near future, the province's coffee export turnover could hit $900 million.

Meanwhile, Lâm Đồng Province has about 175,700ha of coffee and the output for 2023-24 crop is expected to hit 535,000 tonnes.

In 2023, Việt Nam exported over 1.6 million tonnes, down 8.7 per cent in quantity but up 4.6 per cent in value compared to last year, reaching a record turnover of $4.24 billion.

According to the Vietnam Coffee-Cocoa Association (Vicofa), Việt Nam’s coffee production in the 2023-24 crop will be 1.6-1.7 million tonnes, lower than 1.78 million tonnes in 2022-23. — VNS