According to the latest statistics released by the General Department of Vietnam Customs, the first half of August saw the country export 37,400 tonnes of coffee, thereby earning a turnover of US$110.8 million, a drop of 23.3% in volume and 3.5% in value over the same period from last year.

According to the Mercantile Exchange of Vietnam (MXV), Arabica coffee price experienced a fall for eight consecutive days from August 14 to August 20 and stood at US$3,307 per tonne, down 5% in value, while Robusta coffee export value also dropped by more than 6%.

The positive outlook for coffee crops in Brazil that helped to strengthen global supply sources was the main factor leading to coffee price fluctuations in the past week.

Preliminary statistics from the Brazilian Coffee Exports Council (CECAFE) indicated that in the first 16 days of August, Brazil exported a total of 400,200 bags of Robusta coffee with 60 kilos per bag. 

Experts therefore point out that Brazil's push to export Robusta coffee has eased fears relating to a supply shortage in the global market, adding that the downtrend of coffee prices remains only a short-term factor.

Over the long term, the price of coffee, especially Robusta coffee, will continue to increase as demand is expected to inch up in several markets around the world.

Recent times has seen local coffee exports to Italy, the United States, Japan, Russia, Algeria, the Netherlands, and Mexico all increase over the same period from last year. In July alone, the price of Vietnamese coffee hit a record high of US$2,828 per tonne.

Providing that the export volume in the last months of the year is equal to that of the same period from last year and the export price is equivalent to the initial months of the year, then the entire year’s coffee export volume will reach about 1.718 million tonnes with the export turnover hitting US$4.2 billion, a record level for this year.

Source: VOV