HCM CITY — Việt Nam exported 520,000 tonnes of coffee worth US$1 billion in the first quarter of the year, an increase of 15.1 per cent in volume but a decrease of 1.7 per cent in value compared to the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Germany, the US, Indonesia, Italy and Japan were among the country’s key export markets. Germany accounted for more than 14 per cent of exports though its purchases fell by 18 per cent year-on-year.

Reviewing the exports, Đỗ Hà Nam, deputy chairman of the Việt Nam Coffee and Cocoa Association, described the situation as “good.”

The sector’s export target for the 2017-18 crop is 1.5 million tonnes.

In the last quarter of last year 400,000 tonnes had been exported, meaning only another 600,000 tonnes have to be exported to meet the target.

Nam told Việt Nam Economic Times it is not a big number with five months still to go for the end of the coffee season, and the target would surely be achieved.

Talking about prices in the domestic market, he said they are down slightly since the market is now mainly affected by movements in the forward market.

“The market is currently quiet. There is no buyer or seller. In the short term coffee prices will not increase because there are is no driving factor. But starting in July, when the status of the coffee crop in Brazil, the world’s largest coffee producer, is clear, the market may fluctuate.”

But many experts agree there is no big threat this year since supply and demand are closely matched, he said.

The association said Việt Nam’s coffee output is expected to increase by 15 per cent this year, but would not create pressure because the increase would be much lower than in most years.

Việt Nam exported 1.4 million tonnes last year for $3.2 billion.

The country’s exports were down sharply last year due to a fall in output because of the impact of climate change, but thanks to high prices, the export value was down by only 2.7 per cent over 2016, the association said.  

Việt Nam is the second largest exporter behind Brazil.

The coffee industry has carried out a restructure programme to improve its competitiveness by improving productivity, quality and value.

Under the programme, the country plans to keep the area under coffee at 600,000ha and focus on planting new trees with higher productivity and quality, it said. — VNS