HANOI: Vietnam, the world’s largest robusta producer, is forecast to harvest 28.6 million bags (1.72 million tons) of coffee from its next 2017/2018 crop, a rise of 10 percent from the current season, thanks to favorable weather conditions and higher domestic prices, a U.S. Department of Agriculture attaché said.
Higher output from Vietnam, which stands only behind Brazil in terms of global coffee production, supports an industry view which envisages stable global supply in the next crop year.
“Adequate rains starting in January through March helped coffee trees trigger more branches and early flowering,” the USDA attaché said in a report.
High domestic prices have also helped farmers purchase sufficient fertilizer, triggering higher yields even though the total planting area remains unchanged, the report said.
Vietnam’s coffee crop year lasts between October and September, starting with the harvest in the Central Highlands region that accounts for around 90 percent of the country’s output.
While it is still too early to forecast the size of the next harvest, Vietnam’s coffee belt has seen favorable weather for production in recent months, said Bach Thanh Tuan, head of the Community Development Center, a state-backed facility in Dak Lak Province. The center is tasked with ensuring sustainable production in the province as well as the entire region.
“The supply outlook for 2017/18 seems increasingly positive,” the London-based International Coffee Organization said in its April report, adding that initial concerns about frost in Brazil and a shortage of rainfall in Vietnam have eased.
Coffee prices on the domestic market rose to VND47,500 ($2.1) per kilogram on March 21, the highest since September 2011. The price hike coincided with the coffee watering period, during which Vietnamese growers feed fertilizer to their trees.
