Vietnam coffee exports soar in Q1

Vietnam is estimated to gain 695 million U.S. dollars from exporting coffee in the first quarter of this year, posting a year-on-year surge of 133.6 percent, partly due to higher world prices, according to a local industry agency on Wednesday.

Between January and March, the country is set to ship abroad 482,000 tons of coffee, mainly to the European Union, the United States, Japan and Singapore, up 83 percent, said the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association.

Vietnam, the world's second biggest coffee exporter after Brazil, is diversifying coffee products for export, partaking more actively in international coffee trading floors, and applying more advanced farming and processing techniques, according to the agency.

"Local farmers and enterprises should join hands to grow and process coffee on larger scale by employing more advanced equipment and technologies," the association said, noting "many coffee exporters in Vietnam are weak in terms of finance, trade expertise, and information analysis capability."

Vietnam exported 897,000 tons of coffee valued totaling 1.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2006, seeing respective increases of 0.5 percent and 49.9 percent compared with 2005.

Source: Xinhua