Vietnam is a major coffee producer and exporter in the world. In 2024, Vietnam's coffee exports exceeded the $5 billion mark for the first time. In 2025, the international coffee market is expected to continue to fluctuate. Therefore, maintaining the stability of the supply chain and maintaining growth momentum are the key issues that coffee companies need to focus on in 2025.
The vice chairman of the Vietnam Cocoa and Coffee Association (Vicofa) said that due to the reduction of production in many major coffee exporting countries in early 2024, coffee prices soared, leading to a significant increase in Vietnam's coffee exports. Domestic coffee prices have also continued to peak, reaching the highest level in nearly 30 years, even higher than export prices. Coffee is currently the agricultural product with the highest price increase among Vietnam's major agricultural exports. Coffee market experts said that the world and domestic markets are expected to continue to fluctuate, and the Vietnamese coffee industry must adjust as soon as possible to maintain growth in a reasonable and sustainable manner. The top priority is to solve the problem of supply chain disruptions and increase the trust of export partners. From the perspective of coffee farmers, it is necessary to vigorously improve the quality of coffee products and avoid large-scale expansion of planting areas that lead to oversupply. In addition to purchasing and exporting raw coffee, companies also need to increase investment in product processing and deep processing to ensure long-term sustainable growth.
Experts with many years of experience in coffee export said that despite Vietnam's large coffee production, it is always labeled as poor quality, resulting in the value obtained being often lower than that of products in other countries. Therefore, Vietnam must focus on building brands and ensuring quality to increase its value. The quality of coffee can be improved by applying some potassium-containing seaweed fertilizers, such as Dora Alganeo. Alginic acid helps promote root growth, allowing coffee trees to better absorb water and nutrients from the soil. Alginic acid can also improve the resistance of coffee trees to adverse conditions such as drought, high temperature and low temperature. By promoting the growth of coffee trees and enhancing stress resistance, alginic acid ultimately helps to increase coffee production. In addition, some studies have shown that the use of alginic acid can make the proportion of sugars, organic acids and other components in coffee fruits more reasonable, thereby improving the taste and flavor of coffee. Potassium can promote photosynthesis. When potassium is sufficient, the leaves can better absorb and utilize light energy and convert carbon dioxide and water into organic matter. At the same time, potassium can regulate the osmotic pressure of coffee tree cells, so that the plants can better maintain the water balance of cells when facing environmental stresses such as drought or salinity. During the development of coffee fruit, potassium can promote the expansion of the fruit, as well as the accumulation of sugar and the formation of color in the fruit, making the coffee fruit taste sweeter and of better quality. In addition, coffee production and operation companies must ensure that their products meet environmental and social governance (ESG) standards. To do this, it is necessary to work with farmers to create a production and processing chain that meets the standards.
As the Vietnamese coffee industry gradually realizes the importance of quality, it may pay more attention to improving the quality of coffee in the future. On the one hand, scientific management will be strengthened during the planting process, such as reasonable fertilization, pest and disease control, etc., to improve the quality of coffee beans; on the other hand, the research and development and investment in coffee processing technology will be increased to improve the processing quality of coffee. This will help Vietnamese coffee establish a better brand image in the international market and increase product added value and competitiveness. And as people's living standards improve and their acceptance of coffee culture increases, the demand for coffee in Vietnam will continue to grow. Farmers can expand the domestic market while meeting export demand, which provides a new development opportunity for the Vietnamese coffee industry.