High coffee prices at the start of the season bring excitement to farmers

The family of Nguyen Thi Lan in Cop village, Huong Phung commune (Huong Hoa district) has 2.5 hectares of Catimor coffee currently being harvested. With favorable weather and good care this year, the coffee has produced large, high-quality cherries, with an estimated yield of 15 to 16 tons per hectare.

Coffee harvesting has just begun, and fresh coffee cherries are being purchased directly from the farm by traders at prices ranging from VND 13,000 to 16,000 per kilogram. Additionally, this year’s coffee yield is higher than in previous years, which has made Mrs. Lan very pleased.

"The coffee price this year is high right from the start of the season. If prices remain stable, we can recover the costs from the years when prices were low. This also gives farmers confidence to invest in intensive coffee cultivation to improve both yield and quality," said Mrs. Lan.

Mrs. Nguyen Thi Ha’s household in Hiep Hoa village, Tan Lien commune, has 1,000 Catimor coffee trees that are beginning to bear fruit. According to Mrs. Ha, in previous years, low coffee prices led her family to switch some land to other crops. However, with the current rise in coffee prices, she plans to reinvest in growing more coffee.

"With 1,000 coffee trees, we expect to harvest about 3 tons, and with prices ranging from VND 14,000 to 16,000 per kilogram, that’s very good. My family plans to plant several thousand more trees," said Mrs. Ha.

Currently, businesses and cooperatives in Huong Hoa district are actively visiting farms to purchase coffee for processing. Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hang, Director of Khe Sanh Agricultural Products Cooperative, said that although this is still the beginning of the harvest season, the cooperative can purchase about 7 to 8 tons of fresh coffee daily at a processing plant price of VND 16,500 per kilogram. The rise in coffee prices creates a favorable condition for farmers to reinvest in cultivation and intensification, improving productivity and quality, which in turn provides businesses and cooperatives with a stable supply for processing.

"This year, coffee is generally being bought at a high price. Last year, the highest price was only around VND 12,000 to 13,000 per kilogram, and at times it dropped to VND 6,000 to 7,000 per kilogram. But now, coffee purchased directly from the farm is priced at VND 16,000 per kilogram. In a few days, if the weather remains sunny, coffee prices may increase even further," Mrs. Hang said.

Coffee trees in Quang Tri province are primarily cultivated in the mountainous district of Huong Hoa. At its peak, the area had approximately 5,000 hectares of coffee, mainly Catimor, with a smaller portion of Liberica coffee planted sporadically.

Due to the prolonged period of low coffee prices, many farmers shifted to other crops, and now the district has about 3,700 hectares remaining, of which around 3,400 hectares are currently yielding harvests. In recent years, the coffee replanting program has proven effective, gradually improving the productivity and quality of many coffee plantations.

Mr. Hoang Dinh Binh, Head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Huong Hoa district, said that in recent years, farmers have begun replanting coffee trees and paying attention to proper care and harvesting techniques, resulting in increased productivity and quality. Each year, more than 150 hectares of coffee are newly planted or replanted in the district. This has been one of the factors contributing to the improved coffee yield and quality in Huong Hoa district today.