The demand for organic coffee in Vietnam is increasing

Vietnamese coffee drinkers tend to be choosier now: they demand pure roasted coffee, with no corn, soybeans and additives. High-income earners want organic coffee, with no chemicals used in cultivation.

Wayne’s Coffee, a well known brand from Sweden, opened its first shop in HCMC last June. To date, three shops of this chain have opened and are run by Arya Consumer JSC, the franchisee.

The typical characteristic of the chain is that it uses Wayne’s global organic coffee meeting the EU’s standards. Le Kim Anh Nguyen, marketing director of Arya Consumer, said that Wayne’s organic coffee priced at VND39,000 per cup (the lowest price level) is the best selling drink at the chain. 

Asked about the origin of products served at the chain, Nguyen affirmed that 100 percent of products are imports. The chain also sells Vietnam’s products, but it is just clean coffee, while Arya Consumer is seeking domestic organic coffee suppliers.

“We met some suppliers who said they are growing organic coffee. However, as they don’t have certificates on organic products, we cannot use the products,” she explained.

Nguyen Huy Hoang from Kantar Worldpanel Vietnam said that using organic products is now a growing tendency in Vietnam. 

“All organic products are welcomed in Vietnam. The organic product market has been growing rapidly thanks to the improved living standards of people,” Hoang said.

Vietnam-made organic products 

Phan Minh Thong, chair of Phuc Sinh JSC, among top 10 coffee exporters, said that Vietnam has been making sustainable coffee in accordance with UTZ, Fairtrade and 4C standards for years, while organic coffee appeared recently and the supply is very limited.

Thong revealed that Phuc Sinh is developing an organic coffee garden covering an area of 45 hectares in Son La province and is following procedures to obtain EU-standard certificate on organic coffee.

“We plan to export 50 percent of output, while the remaining will be sold domestically,” he said.

Thong said the production cost of organic coffee in Vietnam is very high compared with traditional cultivation, but the products will still be competitive. However, Phuc Sinh still has not set prices for this kind of product.

In early December, at an international event held in HCMC, Vinh Hiep Company Ltd from Gia Lai province introduced its organic coffee products certified as meeting US standards. However, to date, the products are not available in the market. 

A report found the organic coffee growing area globally increased from 176,139 hectares in 2004 to 933,950 hectares in 2016.

RELATED NEWS

Harvesting the potential of the organic cafe

Vietnam mulls solutions to encourage organic agriculture

Kim Chi