There is ample room for Vietnamese firms to boost exports of coffee products to Singapore. — VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — Despite its small population, Singapore's coffee imports are relatively large, but Vietnamese exports to it remain modest, leaving ample room for expansion, according to the Vietnam Trade Office in that country.

Singapore’s coffee imports are worth SGD140 - 150 million (US$103.6- $110.9 million) a year, the same as Việt Nam's coffee exports to Thailand and Indonesia, it said.

Last year Malaysia, Indonesia and Switzerland were its biggest exporters, accounting for nearly 50 per cent of its market share and dominating the Arabica, robusta, and roasted and ground coffee market shares.

Việt Nam is only the ninth largest coffee exporter to Singapore with a share of 2.22 per cent worth SGD3.16 million ($2.3 million) last year. In the first quarter of this year its exports skyrocketed by 175.38 per cent to SGD1.46 million ($1.08 million) and a 3.64 per cent share.

Việt Nam mainly exports roasted and ground coffee followed by unroasted robusta and Arabica, with the latter, despite small numbers still, increasing by 28 per cent last year and 4.2 times in Q1.

In addition to its domestic demand, Singapore is also the region's leading transshipment trade hub, which if exploited well, will help Vietnamese coffee products enter third countries.

To promote exports to the country, the trade office said it is actively working with Vietnamese businesses to offer Singaporean importers timely information about coffee products and help them participate in trade fairs in Singapore to increase their presence there.

According to the Việt Nam Coffee and Cocoa Association, in the first six months of the 2023 - 24 coffee crop until March, Việt Nam exported 956,000 tonnes of coffee worth more than $3 billion.

In March exports were down 11.9 per cent in volume to 185,000 tonnes but up 41.1 per cent in value to $680.86 million as prices shot up.

The industry eyes $5 billion in exports this year from $4.24 billion last year. — VNS