Bringing Khe Sanh Arabica coffee to the US: Cooperation with 100 households growing Abarica coffee

Pun Coffee Co., Ltd. buys nearly 300 tons of fresh coffee from farmers on average every year (which is equivalent to 45 tons of dried coffee) for processing. With this purchase volume, a portion will be proccessed by Pun Coffee Co., Ltd., and the remaining will be deep-processed to produce Pun branded products.

Mr. Phan Hong Phong, technical officer from Pun Coffee Co., Ltd. said that in order to have a stable source of raw materials, the company has cooperated with over 100 households in Huong Phung and Huong Son communes with a total area of 145 hectares.

Households that cooperate with Pun Coffee Co., Ltd. will be supported with investment in fertilizer loans with deferred payment, as well as technical advice on planting, tending and harvesting.

“Coffee gardens must also contain shade trees, and they must be grown naturally without using chemicals; the coffee can only be harvested when it is ripe. The fruit trees will be utilized as shade trees, so farmers will diversify their income sources and become more attached to coffee”, said Mr. Phong.

Mr. Ho Van Hieu from Xa Ri hamlet, Huong Phung commune has just received shade trees from Pun Coffee Co., Ltd. to plant in the 0.7 hectares of Abarica coffee garden. Mr. Hieu is fully supported with the cost of shading and fertilizer seedlings. After a few years, in addition to the money gained from the coffee garden, Mr. Hieu's family will earn additional income from the fruit trees in the garden.

“I was provided with fruit trees to be used as shade trees by the company. I was also supplied with fertilizers and guided by the company on techniques for planting, pruning, tending and harvesting coffee. If this model proves to be favorable, in the next few years, my family will earn additional income from fruit trees to improve our lives", Mr. Hieu shared.

To maintain connection, Pun Coffee Co., Ltd. entered into a contract to plant, nurture and consume products for every household and they will promptly apply crop insurance to support coffee growers.

According to the contract, the price of coffee purchased by Pun Coffee Co., Ltd. will be 5 to 7 thousand VND higher per kilogram than that on the market. However, Pun Coffee Co., Ltd. requires that the coffee must only be harvested when ripe, the garden must have shade trees and is naturally grown.

Diversifying income from coffee gardens is the goal of Pun Coffee Co., Ltd. to help coffee farmers have a better life. Therefore, Pun Coffee Co., Ltd. is planning to popularize planting medicinal plants under coffee gardens and implementing a program of 1 million trees.

“We estimate that for each hectare of medicinal plants under the coffee canopy, an additional income of 50 million VND will be generated for the farmers. From June 2022, we have built a program to plant 1 million trees with the hope to build coffee gardens into rich forests with multiple sources of income”, Mr. Phan Hong Phong shared.

In addition to the program of replanting coffee trees, many households in some communes of Huong Hoa district have worked towards growing multi-purpose Abarica coffee. Namely, many households and household groups sharing the same interests have cooperated to grow clean and organic coffee. Most notably, Pun Coffee Co., Ltd. has established a cooperative group and built a farm with an area of 4 hectares for Abarica specialty coffee.

This is not only the orientation of Pun Coffee Co., Ltd. but also the goal in the development of Abarica coffee as laid out by Huong Phung Commune People's Committee.

“Only when the standard coffee gardens are built, will there be standard input products for processing to bring to the market and focus on export. Our aim is still to improve income and economic efficiency for coffee farmers. In addition to the goal of stabilizing the area of 15 to 17 thousand hectares, Huong Phung will focus on building multi-purpose coffee gardens and diversifying revenue sources so that farmers will be more attached to this special crop", said Mr. Ha Ngoc Duong, Vice Chairman of Huong Phung Commune People's Committee.

With the coffee prices on the rise, the coffee replanting programs as well as the contribution from businesses and coffee farmers, Quang Tri province and Huong Phung commune in particular will discover a new direction in increasing income and developing the economy.