The third Coffee Expo Vietnam 2018 will be held in Ho Chi Minh City from November 1 to 3, attracting 250 brands from ten countries.

Photo from Coffee Expo Vietnam

The trade fair takes place on an annual basis at the Saigon Exhibition & Convention Center (SECC).

As the consumption of coffee and sweets has seen rapid growth in Vietnam and the country has established itself as the world’s second-largest coffee exporter, the expo has become an important industry meeting point between suppliers, traders, sales people, investors, and restaurateurs.

In addition to coffee in the most diverse variations - from beans to capsule coffee - the Coffee Expo is also dedicated to tea, bakery products, and desserts, as well as industry accessories, machinery, equipment and consulting services.

One highlight promises to be the Vietnam Super Barista Championship, where prizes of up to VND200 million ($8,600) can be won, with winners also sponsored for travel to Seoul, South Korea.

The annual expo also offers coffee and confectionary businesses and shop owners sources of high-quality materials as well as information on business and investment activities.

Coffee was first cultivated in Vietnam in 1857 and its coffee plantations now cover 20,000 ha. It exports 1.8 million tons of coffee beans per year, raking in $3.2 billion, and is the world’s second-largest coffee exporter, after Brazil.

The country exported 1.46 million tons of coffee worth $2.77 billion in the first nine months of this year, an increase of 20.1 per cent in volume and 0.4 per cent in value compared to the same period last year.

The low growth in export value was attributed to significant declines in export coffee prices. In September, the average export price of Vietnamese coffee was estimated at $1,731 per ton, down 6 per cent against August and 25.8 per cent compared with September last year. In the first nine months, the average export price was $1,897 per ton, a year-on-year decline of 16.4 per cent.

VN Economic Times