VIETNAM – Coffee ranks second in agricultural exports

MILAN – Coffee ranked as the second agricultural export of Vietnam in 2009, reports the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association.

Vietnam exported 1.1 million tonnes of coffee in 2009, an increase of 40,000 tonnes over 2008. Last month alone, the industry exported 130,000 tonnes worth US$182 million, an increase of 200 percent over the same month of 2008.

Rising exports have not, however, meant increased income to exporters as a glut in supply saw average export prices fall to $1,478 per tonne between January-October 2009, down by $615 from a year earlier.