Coffee exports reached a new record of 4.7 billion USD in the first five months of this year, driven by surges in shipments to major markets including the EU and the US, the latest updates from Vietnam Customs showed.

In May alone, exports totalled nearly 149,000 tonnes, worth 860 million USD, an increase of 60.5% in volume and nearly 2.2 times in value year-on-year.

Although export volume dropped slightly by 0.6% in January to May, export value spiked by 62.3% on record high export prices. The export prices averaged 5,709 USD per tonne, up 63.2%.

The EU remained the largest coffee export market of Vietnam, importing more than 367,000 tonnes worth 2 billion USD, a rise of 10.2% in volume and 81.9% in value.

Exports to the US also increased sharply, by 6.3% in volume to 54,310 tonnes and 72.4% in value to 299 million USD.

Exports to emerging markets also soared drastically with shipments to Algeria doubling and to Mexico by 39 times and South Africa by 17 times.
Challenges ahead

Despite impressive growth, Vietnam’s coffee exports are facing with challenges, especially risks from global policy uncertainties and downward trend of global prices.

Analysts warned that global coffee prices are trending to drop due to rising supply from major producers, Robusta futures in London closed at 4,409 USD per tonne on June 11, down 15.6% from the previous month.

Arabica on the New York exchange also dropped by 8.4%.

In the domestic market, coffee prices in the Central Highlands have fallen to their lowest level since November, at around 112,000 VND per kg, down 12%.

According to the Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the price drop comes as Brazil and Indonesia are entering new harvest seasons. Brazil’s coffee crop is expected to increase by 0.5% to 65 million bags in 2025-26 harvest season while Vietnam’s output is forecast to increase by 6.9% to 31 million bags, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

However, the department said that Vietnam’s coffee export outlook remains optimistic, projecting the full-year export value at 7 billion USD.

Vietnam earned 5.4 billion USD from exporting coffee in 2024./.VNA