With the theme "Buon Ma Thuot - Destination of the world’s coffee", the 8th Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival continues to affirm and elevate the position of Vietnamese coffee in the world market. The event was held to promote high-quality coffee and Vietnamese specialty coffee, making Buon Ma Thuot a destination of the world’s coffee.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang acknowledged that, for a long time, Dak Lak province has been famous for its basalt red lands, home to vast coffee plantations, which is known as the capital of Vietnamese coffee.

The famous Buon Ma Thuot coffee is now present in 70 countries and territories around the world, contributing greatly to the country's coffee export turnover with a value of more than 1.9 billion USD.

Buon Ma Thuot is a strategic city of the Central Highlands, which converges favorable elements of natural landscape, historical value, cultural identity, and benefits a lot from the States development and investment policies.  The city now aims to the goal of becoming the central urban area of the Central Highlands and the "City of the world’s coffee".

Seeing the potential and strengths of the province and the development opportunities of typical local products, Mr. Tran Luu Quang hoped that Dak Lak will make more efforts, increase innovation, promote proactiveness, be creative, dare to think, dare to do, overcome difficulties, take advantage of potentials, advantages and opportunities to develop strongly, worthy of being the economic leader of the Central Highlands.

The Deputy Prime Minister said that despite encouraging results, Vietnamese coffee still faces challenges and difficulties that need to be overcome to further develop in the coming time. Currently, Vietnam mainly export raw coffee, with small-scale production, uneven quality, and limited deep processing technology...

"Therefore, in the coming time, to sustainably develop the coffee industry, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and localities will continue to promote the restructuring of the agricultural and coffee sectors, effectively implementing the plan to replant coffee trees to large-scale, modern commodity production associated with deep preservation and processing,” said Deputy PM Quang.

“The both sides must well perform planning and building coffee growing areas, developing a sustainable coffee value chain associated with cultural and tourism development, promoting the application of science and technology in production, to increase productivity, ensure product quality, improve added value and adapt to climate change, protect the ecological environment", Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang added.

At the same time, the Deputy Prime Minister noted that it is necessary to grasp the market's consumption trends, build appropriate brand promotion, marketing, and brand positioning strategies. Localities need to promote relationships between businesses, cooperatives and coffee growers; diversifying connections between producers and consumers, promoting the development of high-quality coffee, internationally certified specialty coffee with unique flavors.

Mr. Pham Ngoc Nghi, Deputy Secretary of the Dak Lak Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, Standing Deputy Head of the Festival Steering Committee said that with a coffee area of about 210,000 hectares and an annual harvest of over 520,000 tons, Dak Lak is known as the coffee capital of the country. Dak Lak coffee products are present in nearly 60 countries and territories. With the consent of the Government, the Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival - a festival honoring the Vietnamese coffee industry - has become a national festival, which is held every 2 years.

“The 8th Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival with many new expectations, beliefs, aspirations and determination of the Party Committee, government and people of all ethnic groups in Dak Lak province, continues to develop its potential, internal resources, taking advantage of the attention, support and assistance of the Party, the National Assembly and the Government to build and develop Buon Ma Thuot City into a central urban area of the Central Highlands; creating a strong driving force for the development of Dak Lak province and the Central Highlands as a whole under the spirit of Conclusion No. 67-KL/TW dated December 16, 2019 and Resolution No. 23 -NQ/TW dated October 6, 2022 of the Politburo.

“Hopefully, during the festival, delegates and visitors will have interesting moments of experience, immerse themselves in the aroma of coffee, unique traditional festivals in beautiful moments of March of the Central Highlands. Dak Lak province is always ready to "make good relationships" with domestic and international investors, so that ideas and investment projects will soon become reality in the basalt land filled with love," Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Nghi said.

Immediately after the speeches of the Party, State and local leaders, there was a performing arts program with the participation of famous artists, singers and a large number of people. Especially, the festival has the presence of beauty queen H'Hen Nie - Miss Universe Vietnam 2017, Top 5 Miss Universe 2018 as its Media Ambassador.

With the theme "Buon Ma Thuot - the destination of world's coffee ", the performing arts section was divided into 3 chapters with the following topics: 1/Fragrance of wildflowers - spreading to five continents; 2/ Coffee culture - Crystallization of integration; 3/ Buon Ma Thuot - Destination of world coffee.

The dance of black jade and Ban Me coffee - spreading to five continents, satisfied thousands of people and tourists at 10/3 Square with impressive performances and special effects using water, fire and 3D mapping projection techniques combined with real actor interaction.

On a modern open stage, the performances were elaborately choreographed, imbued with the cultural identity of the Central Highlands, creating a scene of a rich Dak Lak land, with a unique culture and history of formation and the expansion of Buon Ma Thuot coffee to the world...

The festival aims to continue to introduce, honor and promote the images and unique heritage values of coffee culture, people, and cultural space of Gongs in the Central Highlands in general and Buon Ma Thuot - Dak Lak in particular, building a rich, dynamic, friendly, polite and hospitable image of Dak Lak province.

The event also contributes to enhancing the tourism potential and strengths of Dak Lak province, thereby attracting the attention and participation of domestic and foreign coffee-related units, businesses and organizations gathering together in Buon Ma Thuot City. In particular, this festival focuses on promoting and developing Vietnamese specialty coffee, gradually turning Buon Ma Thuot into a destination for the world’s coffee lovers, affirming the position of Vietnamese coffee in the international market.

With the theme "Buon Ma Thuot - Destination of the world's coffee", the 8th Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival 2023 taking place from March 10 to 14 is a special event to honor coffee growers, producers, processors and traders of Vietnam in general and of Dak Lak province in particular.

In addition to brand promotion, product introduction, and trade promotion activities to improve the value and quality of coffee products, there was also an international trade connection conference and many attractive and unique cultural activities, exhibitions and art performances of the Central Highlands region.

Quynh Nga