Central Highlands coffee enjoys a good harvest and high prices: Farmers are excited

The Central Highlands region is entering the peak season for coffee harvesting – the main crop covering over 639,000 hectares in the provinces of Quang Ngai, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, and Lam Dong. This year, coffee continues to yield both a good harvest and high prices. Although the prices have not reached the record peaks of the two previous years, they remain at a high level, making the farmers very excited.

Joyful over a Bountiful Crop and High Prices

In Gia Lai, Mr. Nguyen Huu Thong (from Thong Nhat ward), who owns 1 hectare of coffee planted over 10 years ago, shared: "The garden this year has a lot of fruit, with large and firm beans. I expect to harvest 25 tonnes of fresh cherries, equivalent to over 4 tonnes of green beans. With a selling price of about 115,000 – 117,000 VND/kg, my family will make a large profit after deducting expenses. This Tet holiday will be more prosperous than usual."

In Ia Phi commune (Gia Lai), the harvesting atmosphere is bustling, with locals enthusiastically sharing harvesting tips to maintain bean quality. Mr. Nguyen Cong Son, Chairman of the Ia Phi Communal People's Committee, said that the entire commune has over 2,800 hectares of coffee, and for three consecutive years, they have enjoyed both good harvests and high prices, which has helped locals gain stable income and confidently invest in replanting and expanding production.

In Dak Lak, Mr. Tran Van Toan (from Quang Phu commune) boasted: "My 1-hectare coffee garden is expected to yield a profit of about 300 million VND this year." He plans to buy a car for easier commuting.

Not just Mr. Toan, many households in key areas like Quang Phu, Ea Kpam, Krong Nang, etc., have built spacious houses and bought cars thanks to consecutive bountiful coffee harvests in recent years.

Improving Quality Instead of Expanding Area

Besides harvesting, local authorities are also focusing on improving quality and ensuring security during the coffee season.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Vuong, Chairman of the Dak Ha Communal People's Committee (Quang Ngai province), stated that as a key coffee-growing area of the province, the commune is particularly focused on improving product quality in conjunction with ensuring security during the harvest season. The commune has developed a coffee harvest plan, which encourages residents to install surveillance cameras and coordinates with the police force and neighborhood groups to organize night patrols and tightly control buying points from other areas, aiming to prevent theft and the trading of coffee with unclear origins.

Furthermore, the local government also guides farmers to harvest coffee at the correct ripeness ratio, contributing to higher quality coffee that meets market demands.

According to the Western Highlands Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), favorable weather conditions have allowed coffee plants to develop well, with both yield and bean quality being high, expected to be slightly better than in 2024. The stable high coffee price helps farmers achieve an average profit of 300 million VND/hectare.

However, the institute still recommends that coffee growers gradually shift from agricultural production to an agricultural economy, diversify income streams right on the coffee farm through intercropping and developing high-quality, organic coffee linked to the market. Moreover, people should not expand the planting area in unsuitable locations; instead, they should focus on replanting old gardens with new, high-yield, high-quality varieties to sustainably increase value and income for the farmers.

Mr. Trinh Duc Minh, Chairman of the Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Association (Dak Lak province), commented that for the coffee industry to develop stably and sustainably, farmers, businesses, and the State need to work together, especially given that major markets like Europe are tightening regulations on traceability and deforestation (EUDR).

According to Mr. Minh, farmers need to transition to clean, certified farming models and simultaneously promote deep processing to increase the value of the coffee bean, instead of merely exporting green coffee beans as is currently the case.

Source: Saigon Giai Phong Newspaper