Coffee exports suffer decline over ten months

October alone saw businesses earn US$167 million from exporting 90,000 tonnes of coffee, falling 9.8% in volume and 11.2% in value from the previous month, although this sum was an increase of 1.0% in volume and 3.8% in value when compared with October last year.

The average export price of coffee in October also suffered a decline of 1.6% to US$1,856 per tonne from the previous month, although marking an upturn of 2.8% from last year’s corresponding period. Over 10 months, the export price increased by 0.6% to US$1,734 per tonne against the same period last year.

According to statistics compiled by the General Department of Vietnam Customs, Vietnam shipped 85,500 tonnes of Robusta coffee worth US$134.36 million abroad in September, up 11.9% in volume and 16.5% in value over the figures from September, 2019.

However, nine-month Robusta coffee exports decreased by 1.4% in volume and 3.1% in value compared to last year’s corresponding period. Indeed, exports to major markets saw a downturn, including to the United States, Spain, Japan, Russia, Belgium, Thailand, and Malaysia.

In contrast, the export of Robusta coffee to markets such as Germany, Italy, the Republic of Korea, and Algeria experienced an upward trajectory.

October saw the price of Robusta coffee soar compared to the previous month due to adverse weather conditions in the two of the world’s leading coffee producers, Brazil and Vietnam.

Over the short term, Robusta coffee prices are anticipated to increase due to unfavourable weather factors locally.

Moreover, due to the complicated nature of COVID-19 developments, some European and North American countries have been forced to deploy social-distancing measures, contributing to an increasing demand for instant coffee at home.