{ "id": "vietnam", "url": "https://coffearium.org/entries/vietnam/", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "title": "Vietnam", "summary": "The second-largest coffee producer and the largest grower of robusta, concentrated on the basalt plateaus of the Central Highlands, picked from late October to January and irrigated mostly from groundwater.", "domain": "origin", "kind": "Region", "stage": "farm", "topics": [ "history" ], "topicSections": {}, "lang": "en", "status": "verified", "reviewer": "Coffearium verification pass", "lastVerified": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z", "literatureSearched": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z", "updated": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z", "added": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z", "brief": [ "Vietnam was the second-largest producer in 2025/26, with 31.7 of the world’s 178.8 million 60-kg bags, by the count of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).1", "In USDA’s 2025/26 figures, 30.5 million bags were robusta and 1.2 million arabica; Vietnam grew 36.1% of the world’s robusta (our calculation).1", "The Central Highlands held 92% of the coffee area and grew 90% of the crop, according to a 2025 USDA report.5", "Growers often pick robusta from late October to January; the dry season runs from January to April, when farms irrigate, mainly from groundwater.6,9", "The Buôn Ma Thuột geographical indication for robusta was registered by Decision 896/QĐ-SHTT of 14 October 2005, according to the 2010 provincial regulation.20" ], "quickFacts": [ { "label": "Production (USDA)", "value": "31.7 million 60-kg bags (2025/26); 32.5 million forecast (2026/27)" }, { "label": "Production (FAO)", "value": "2,015,289 t green coffee (2024)" }, { "label": "Share of world output", "value": "17.7% (USDA, 2025/26) · 18.1% (FAO, 2024), our calculation" }, { "label": "Species", "value": "Robusta 30.5, arabica 1.2 million bags (USDA, 2025/26)" }, { "label": "Coffee area", "value": "About 730,000 ha, 92% harvested (USDA post estimate, 2024)" }, { "label": "Main region", "value": "Central Highlands, 92% of area and 90% of output (USDA, 2025)" }, { "label": "Harvest", "value": "Robusta late October to January (USDA, 2017)" }, { "label": "Yield", "value": "2,970 kg/ha (FAO, 2024)" }, { "label": "Domestic consumption", "value": "4.9 million bags (USDA, 2025/26), 15.5% of the crop (our calculation)" }, { "label": "Export reference", "value": "FOB Ho Chi Minh City (USDA, 2017)" } ], "aka": [ "Viet Nam", "Vietnamese coffee" ], "linkTerms": [ "Vietnamese coffee", "Viet Nam", "Central Highlands", "Buôn Ma Thuột" ], "related": [ "coffee-production-by-country", "the-coffee-belt", "coffea-canephora", "harvest-calendars", "irrigation", "coffee-yields", "natural-process", "green-coffee-grading", "coffee-futures", "differentials", "how-a-coffee-price-is-made", "coffee-price-history", "coffee-consumption-by-country", "eudr" ], "contested": [ "Size of the crop: USDA gives 31.7 million bags for marketing year 2025/26 (October–September)1; FAO gives 2,015,289 t for calendar year 2024, which is 33.6 million bags (our calculation).3", "When coffee first reached Vietnam: a 2004 World Bank study states that coffee was first planted in 1857, without naming a place or giving evidence7; a 2025 genetic study, citing the International Coffee Organization, dates the introduction of robusta to the 1900s.16 No source consulted names who brought coffee first." ], "corrections": [], "sources": [ { "id": "s1", "title": "Coffee: World Markets and Trade (July 2026)", "authors": "USDA Foreign Agricultural Service", "year": 2026, "publisher": "United States Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service", "url": "https://apps.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/circulars/2026/07/coffee.pdf", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Vietnam values from the Coffee Summary tables (Arabica Production, Robusta Production, Production, Bean Exports, Roast and Ground Exports, Soluble Exports, Exports, Domestic Consumption), thousand 60-kg bags, marketing years 2021/22–2026/27; Vietnam’s marketing year (October–September) from the table Marketing Years for Producing Countries. Edition of July 2026 (the circular is also posted at a rolling address). Shares are our calculation.", "quote": "Vietnam production is forecast to increase 800,000 bags to a record 32.5 million due to expanding area and higher yields.", "quotes": [ { "text": "Vietnam is raised 900,000 bags to 31.7 million on higher yields.", "for": "2025/26 estimate" }, { "text": "domestic consumption is expected to reach a record 5.0 million bags.", "for": "consumption forecast 2026/27" } ], "accessed": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s2", "title": "Coffee bean production (FAOSTAT, Crops and livestock products, item Coffee, green)", "authors": "Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); processed by Our World in Data", "year": 2026, "publisher": "FAO via Our World in Data", "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/coffee-bean-production", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "FAO statistics are Tier A; read through Our World in Data, which republishes the FAOSTAT series in tonnes (data updated 25 Feb 2026). Values for Vietnam, calendar years 1961–2024, read on 2 Nov 2026 from the chart’s filtered CSV download; the 2024 value (2,015,289 t) matches the site’s FAOSTAT extract.", "quotes": [], "accessed": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s3", "title": "FAOSTAT: Crops and livestock products (item “Coffee, green”, element “Production”, 2024)", "authors": "Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations", "year": 2026, "publisher": "FAO, licence CC BY 4.0", "url": "https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Values and flags from the FAOSTAT extract of 11 Oct 2026 used by the site’s world coffee map, kept in tools/figures/data/the-coffee-belt-production-faostat-2024.json (78 countries and territories; Viet Nam 2,015,289 t, flag A). Rank, sum and share are our calculation.", "quotes": [], "accessed": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s4", "title": "Coffee bean yields; Coffee bean production (FAOSTAT, Crops and livestock products, item Coffee, green)", "authors": "Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); processed by Our World in Data", "year": 2026, "publisher": "FAO via Our World in Data", "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/coffee-yields", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "FAO statistics are Tier A; read through Our World in Data. Vietnam, 2015–2024, read on 2 Nov 2026 (2024: 2.9699 t/ha, given here as 2,970 kg/ha).", "quotes": [], "accessed": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s5", "title": "Vietnam: Coffee Annual (VM2025-0018)", "authors": "Nguyen, L. (USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, Hanoi)", "year": 2025, "publisher": "USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, GAIN report", "url": "https://apps.fas.usda.gov/newgainapi/api/Report/DownloadReportByFileName?fileName=Coffee+Annual_Hanoi_Vietnam_VM2025-0018.pdf", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Government report dated 19 May 2025 (post estimates and forecasts, not official USDA figures). Robusta harvested area and yield from its Table 1 (2024/25 estimate). The area figure is a post estimate; Figure 1 of the report is drawn from GSO statistics. The specialty programme is MARD’s, as reported by USDA.", "quote": "Total coffee area in 2024 is estimated at 730,000 hectares with 92 percent of this area harvested.", "quotes": [ { "text": "The Central Highlands region, which includes Dak Lak, Lam Dong, Dak Nong, Gia Lai, and Kon Tum provinces,", "for": "Central Highland provinces" }, { "text": "accounts for 92 percent of the total coffee cultivation area and 90 percent of national coffee output.", "for": "Central Highlands share" }, { "text": "Forty one percent of Vietnam's coffee exports go to European Union.", "for": "EU share of exports" }, { "text": "created a specialty coffee program plan in 2021.", "for": "specialty programme" }, { "text": "Coffee trees in the remaining cultivated area were not mature enough to harvest.", "for": "unharvested area" }, { "text": "now the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE)", "for": "ministry renamed" } ], "accessed": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s6", "title": "Vietnam: Coffee Annual (VM7024)", "authors": "USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, Hanoi", "year": 2017, "publisher": "USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, GAIN report", "url": "https://apps.fas.usda.gov/newgainapi/api/report/downloadreportbyfilename?filename=COFFEE+ANNUAL_Hanoi_Vietnam_5-17-2017.pdf", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Government report dated 17 May 2017. The table ‘Estimate of Vietnam’s Coffee Areas by Province’ gives approximate areas for marketing years 2015/16 to 2017/18, compiled by the post from provincial agriculture departments (DARDs), MARD, exporters and traders; it is an estimate, not a census.", "quote": "Coffee growers often pick Robusta cherries from late October to January.", "quotes": [ { "text": "Estimate of Vietnam’s Coffee Areas by Province", "for": "provincial table" }, { "text": "Sources: Provincial DARDs, MARD, Local exporters, Local traders.", "for": "basis of the provincial table" }, { "text": "the rainy season arrived earlier this year to Central Highland, which is Vietnam’s main coffee producing area", "for": "main region" }, { "text": "export prices of common ungraded green bean Robusta (FOB HCMC)", "for": "FOB HCMC price basis" }, { "text": "did not only slow the picking and drying processes, but caused more physical damage to the beans", "for": "late rain in 2016" } ], "accessed": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s7", "title": "Coffee Markets: New Paradigms in Global Supply and Demand (Agriculture and Rural Development Discussion Paper 3)", "authors": "Lewin, B.; Giovannucci, D.; Varangis, P.", "year": 2004, "publisher": "World Bank, Washington, DC", "url": "https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/899311468167958765/pdf/283000REVISED0Coffee1Markets01PUBLIC1.pdf", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "World Bank discussion paper; the views are the authors’. The 1857 date and the 2001 provincial areas are stated without a named source; the authors call the historical area data ‘indicative at best’.", "quote": "Coffee was first planted in Vietnam in 1857, and the planted area remained a minimal few thousand hectares until the 1970s.", "quotes": [ { "text": "a 1986 policy decision—Doi Moi—that allowed the establishment of the private sector in agriculture", "for": "Đổi Mới" }, { "text": "internal migration of ethnic Vietnamese (Kinh) in to the so-called New Economic Zones of these provinces", "for": "New Economic Zones" }, { "text": "spontaneous migration into the region by ethnic Vietnamese started to exceed planned migration", "for": "spontaneous migration" }, { "text": "For some of the ethnic minority groups, coffee growing offered an alternative to more traditional slash-and-burn forms of agriculture", "for": "ethnic minorities" }, { "text": "Financial hardships have led to some tension between the ethnic minorities and the ethnic Vietnamese.", "for": "tensions after the price fall" }, { "text": "The vast majority of the expansion from about 40,000 hectares to approximately 600,000 hectares occurred from the late 1980s to the late 1990s.", "for": "expansion of the area" }, { "text": "in 2001, 566,800 hectares were planted to coffee, of which 420,300 hectares are in production", "for": "area 2001" }, { "text": "Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association (VICOFA)", "for": "VICOFA" }, { "text": "the two frosts and drought in Brazil which led to a price hike", "for": "Brazilian frosts and drought" } ], "accessed": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s8", "title": "Coffee Boom, Coffee Bust and Smallholder Response in Vietnam’s Central Highlands", "authors": "Ha, D. T.; Shively, G.", "year": 2008, "publisher": "Review of Development Economics 12(2), 312–326", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9361.2007.00391.x", "doi": "10.1111/j.1467-9361.2007.00391.x", "tier": "A", "quote": "This paper studies the recent boom and bust in Vietnam’s coffee economy.", "quotes": [], "abstractOnly": true, "accessed": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s9", "title": "Win-win: Improved irrigation management saves water and increases yield for robusta coffee farms in Vietnam", "authors": "Byrareddy, V.; Kouadio, L.; Kath, J.; Mushtaq, S.; Rafiei, V.; Scobie, M.; Stone, R.", "year": 2020, "publisher": "Agricultural Water Management 241, 106350", "url": "https://research.usq.edu.au/download/b3535aed6c355ab532253dcffb4e7c3fe3b60403c69154365880b2f7c94a0f43/2555197/pagination_AGWAT_106350.pdf", "doi": "10.1016/j.agwat.2020.106350", "tier": "A", "quote": "Basin and sprinkler irrigation are the two traditional irrigation methods in Vietnam.", "quotes": [ { "text": "The major source of irrigation water in coffee-producing provinces in the Central Highlands region is groundwater", "for": "groundwater" }, { "text": "The January-April (JA) period corresponds to the dry season, followed by a rainy season from May to October.", "for": "seasons" }, { "text": "In Dak Lak, years were particularly dry during 2015–2017.", "for": "dry years" }, { "text": "These provinces account for approximately 90 % of Vietnam's average annual export of coffee.", "for": "four provinces’ share of exports" }, { "text": "The irrigation application as advised by the Vietnam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)", "for": "ministry advice" }, { "text": "558 farmers were selected across 18 districts in the study provinces", "for": "survey size" }, { "text": "The source of irrigation water is mainly from the dug open wells at farms and/or nearby lakes, depending on the province.", "for": "wells and lakes" } ], "accessed": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s10", "title": "Toward sustainable coffee production in Vietnam: More coffee with less water", "authors": "Amarasinghe, U. A.; Hoanh, C. T.; D’haeze, D.; Hung, T. Q.", "year": 2015, "publisher": "Agricultural Systems 136, 96–105", "url": "https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agisys/v136y2015icp96-105.html", "doi": "10.1016/j.agsy.2015.02.008", "tier": "A", "quote": "It requires irrigation, because rainfall only provides 25% of the potential crop evapotranspiration demand.", "quotes": [], "abstractOnly": true, "accessed": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s11", "title": "Improving Irrigation Water Use Efficiency of Robusta Coffee (Coffea canephora) Production in Lam Dong Province, Vietnam", "authors": "Tran, D. N. L.; Nguyen, T. D.; Pham, T. T.; Rañola, R. F., Jr.; Nguyen, T. A.", "year": 2021, "publisher": "Sustainability 13(12), 6603", "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/12/6603", "doi": "10.3390/su13126603", "tier": "A", "quote": "about 72% of coffee households in the province irrigate twice the standard water requirement for coffee", "quotes": [], "accessed": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s12", "title": "Not so robust: robusta coffee production is highly sensitive to temperature", "authors": "Kath, J.; Byrareddy, V. M.; Craparo, A.; Nguyen-Huy, T.; Mushtaq, S.; Cao, L.; Bossolasco, L.", "year": 2020, "publisher": "Global Change Biology 26(6), 3677–3688", "url": "https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q5v20/not-so-robust-robusta-coffee-production-is-highly-sensitive-to-temperature", "doi": "10.1111/gcb.15097", "tier": "A", "quote": "robusta has an optimal temperature below 20.5°C (or a mean minimum/maximum of ≤16.2/24.1°C)", "quotes": [ { "text": "Using 10 years of yield observations from 798 farms across South East Asia", "for": "data basis" } ], "abstractOnly": true, "accessed": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s13", "title": "A bitter cup: climate change profile of global production of Arabica and Robusta coffee", "authors": "Bunn, C.; Läderach, P.; Ovalle Rivera, O.; Kirschke, D.", "year": 2015, "publisher": "Climatic Change 129(1), 89–101", "url": "https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/climat/v129y2015i1p89-101.html", "doi": "10.1007/s10584-014-1306-x", "tier": "A", "quote": "The world’s dominant production regions in Brazil and Vietnam may experience substantial reductions in area available for coffee.", "quotes": [], "abstractOnly": true, "accessed": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s14", "title": "Research results on robusta coffee breeding in Vietnam", "authors": "Phan, V. H.", "year": 2017, "publisher": "Vietnam Journal of Science, Technology and Engineering 59(4), 37–41", "url": "https://vietnamscience.vjst.vn/index.php/vjste/article/view/269", "doi": "10.31276/VJSTE.59(4).37", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Peer-reviewed journal (received 28 May 2017, accepted 25 November 2017); the author is at WASI, the national coffee research institute, reporting its own breeding work. Yields are from WASI trials.", "quote": "with total 11 Robusta varieties.", "quotes": [ { "text": "Since 1976, the Western Highlands Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute (WASI, former Coffee Research Institute),", "for": "WASI since 1976" }, { "text": "Of which, TR4, TR9, and TR11 are largely used in the cultivation in the Central Highlands,", "for": "main clones" }, { "text": "The TR4 clone was officially recognized as a national variety in 2006", "for": "TR4 recognition" }, { "text": "TR9 and TR11 in 2011", "for": "TR9 and TR11 recognition" }, { "text": "TR4 clone shows dominant yield potential at 7.3 tons per ha", "for": "TR4 yield in trials" }, { "text": "The TR9 clone especially has very big fruit size with 100 beans’ weight which reaches 22.5 grams.", "for": "TR9 bean weight" }, { "text": "100 beans’ weight of TR4 and TR11 clones is more than 18 grams.", "for": "TR4 bean weight" }, { "text": "TRS1 in 2015 (Decision No 324/QĐ-TT-CCN, on November 5, 2015).", "for": "TRS1 recognition" }, { "text": "TRS1 is a good solution for quick seedling supplyies for the replanting program.", "for": "TRS1 use" }, { "text": "TR14 and TR15 are very promising to adapt to new challenge of climate change,", "for": "TR14 and TR15" } ], "accessed": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s15", "title": "TR9", "authors": "World Coffee Research", "publisher": "World Coffee Research, Robusta varieties catalogue", "url": "https://varieties.worldcoffeeresearch.org/varieties/tr9", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "WCR catalogue data (A for what it catalogues: breeder, release, altitude, yield potential).", "quote": "The optimal altitude for production is around 500–800 meters above sea level.", "quotes": [ { "text": "The mother tree of this variety originated from a farm in Daklak Province in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.", "for": "origin of TR9" } ], "accessed": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s16", "title": "Out of Africa: the genomic footprints of Vietnamese Robusta coffee", "authors": "Vi, T.; Le, T. N.; Cubry, P.; Phan, V. H.; Dinh, T. T. O.; Tran, T. B. N.; Nguyen, V. T.; Millet, C. P.; Kambale, J.-L.; Manzan Karine, G. K.; Musoli, P.; Sumirat, U.; Mahinga, J. C.; Stoffelen, P.; Zhang, D.; Marraccini, P.; Vigouroux, Y.; Khong, N. G.; Poncet, V.", "year": 2025, "publisher": "PLOS One 20(5), e0324988", "url": "https://rcastoragev2.blob.core.windows.net/eaefa600b79596af7d25b603a15e2d7e/pone.0324988.pdf", "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0324988", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "The introduction date of robusta (ICO statistics), the route to South-East Asia via Java (Cramer 1957, Coste 1955, Verleysen 2023) and the projection for the Central Highlands (Bunn et al.) are cited by the authors, not their own findings.", "quote": "All Vietnamese Robusta accessions displayed Congo Basin (ER group) origins, albeit to various extents.", "quotes": [ { "text": "Western Highlands Agriculture & Forestry Science Institute (WASI), Buon Ma Thuot, Vietnam", "for": "WASI in Buôn Ma Thuột" }, { "text": "Robusta coffee was first introduced to Vietnam in the 1900s", "for": "introduction of robusta" }, { "text": "via the Java Coffee Research Station, Indonesia", "for": "route to South-East Asia via Java (cited from older literature)" }, { "text": "it is predicted that the most suitable existing coffee croplands in the Central Highlands will be reduced by > 50% by 2050", "for": "projection" }, { "text": "we also uncovered contribution from several other genetic groups", "for": "other groups" }, { "text": "The elite accessions were designated as TR4, TR5, TR6, TR9, TR10, TR11, TR12, TR13, TR14 and TR15 clones.", "for": "WASI elite clones studied" } ], "accessed": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s17", "title": "Genetic-environment interactions and climatic variables effect on bean physical characteristics and chemical composition of Coffea arabica", "authors": "Sarzynski, T.; Bertrand, B.; Rigal, C.; Marraccini, P.; Vaast, P.; Georget, F.; Campa, C.; Abdallah, C.; Nguyen, C. T. Q.; Nguyen, H. P.; Nguyen, H. T. T.; Ngoc, Q. L.; Ngan, G. K.; Viet, T. V.; Navarini, L.; Lonzarich, V.; Bossolasco, L.; Etienne, H.", "year": 2023, "publisher": "Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 103(9), 4692–4703", "url": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36905183/", "doi": "10.1002/jsfa.12544", "tier": "A", "quote": "with three genotypes of Coffea arabica in the northwest mountainous region of Vietnam.", "quotes": [ { "text": "covering an altitudinal gradient [600-1100 m above sea level (a.s.l.)]", "for": "altitude of trials" } ], "abstractOnly": true, "accessed": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s18", "title": "Lễ hội cà phê Sơn La 2023: quảng bá và tôn vinh hạt cà phê Việt", "authors": "Bộ Công Thương (Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam)", "year": 2023, "publisher": "Ministry of Industry and Trade, news page", "url": "https://moit.gov.vn/tin-tuc/thi-truong-trong-nuoc/le-hoi-ca-phe-son-la-2023-quang-ba-va-ton-vinh-hat-ca-phe-viet.html", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "News page of a government ministry, dated 14 Sep 2023 (state institution, A under the 31 Oct 2026 rule, for what it reports). The year of the area and production figures is not stated; they are given as current in September 2023.", "quote": "Sơn La hiện là địa phương có diện tích cà phê lớn nhất miền Bắc, với khoảng 17.000 ha", "quotes": [ { "text": "sản lượng khoảng 30.000 tấn cà phê nhân/ năm", "for": "production in Sơn La" }, { "text": "Từ năm 2017, sản phẩm cà phê Sơn La đã được Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ cấp Giấy chứng nhận đăng ký chỉ dẫn địa lý", "for": "Sơn La geographical indication" } ], "accessed": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s19", "title": "Xây dựng chỉ dẫn địa lý và chuỗi giá trị cho cà phê Khe Sanh", "authors": "Bộ Công Thương (Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam)", "year": 2023, "publisher": "Ministry of Industry and Trade, news page", "url": "https://moit.gov.vn/tin-tuc/xuc-tien-thuong-mai/xay-dung-chi-dan-dia-ly-va-chuoi-gia-tri-cho-ca-phe-khe-sanh.html", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "News page of a government ministry (state institution, A for what it reports). The page shows 20 May 2023; its metadata gives 5 November 2023. The year of the Catimor area is not stated.", "quote": "đang xây dựng chỉ dẫn địa lý và chuỗi giá trị cho cà phê", "quotes": [ { "text": "vào đầu thế kỷ XX, trong các đồn điền của người Pháp", "for": "French plantations at Khe Sanh" }, { "text": "giống cà phê chè Catimor", "for": "Catimor" }, { "text": "hiện đạt 4.421 ha", "for": "Catimor area at Khe Sanh" }, { "text": "trên 1.000 m", "for": "Sơn La altitude" }, { "text": "diện tích khoảng 60 ha cà phê Arabica ở xã Hướng Phùng, huyện Hướng Hóa", "for": "arabica in Hướng Hóa" } ], "accessed": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s20", "title": "Quyết định số 18/2010/QĐ-UBND ngày 30/06/2010 ban hành Quy chế quản lý, sử dụng chỉ dẫn địa lý “Buôn Ma Thuột” đối với sản phẩm cà phê nhân Robusta", "authors": "Ủy ban nhân dân tỉnh Đắk Lắk (People’s Committee of Đắk Lắk province)", "year": 2010, "publisher": "Đắk Lắk Provincial People’s Committee; text read on caselaw.vn", "url": "https://caselaw.vn/van-ban-phap-luat/196376-quyet-dinh-so-18-2010-qd-ubnd-ngay-30-06-2010-ban-hanh-quy-che-quan-ly-su-dung-chi-dan-dia-ly-ca-phe-buon-ma-thuot-doi-voi-san-pham-ca-phe-nhan-robusta-do-uy-ban-nhan-dan-tinh-dak-lak-ban-hanh", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Provincial legal regulation; replaced on 11 Nov 2021 by Decision 31/2021/QĐ-UBND (source 21). Used for the registration decision of the indication and for the area description of 2010.", "quote": "đã được cấp đăng bạ theo Quyết định số 896/QĐ-SHTT ngày 14 tháng 10 năm 2005", "quotes": [ { "text": "có độ cao so với mặt biển từ 400- 800m", "for": "altitude of the area" }, { "text": "sản phẩm cà phê nhân Robusta", "for": "product" }, { "text": "Kích thước hạt: Dài 10 - 11mm, rộng 6 - 7 mm, dày 3 - 4mm.", "for": "bean size" } ], "accessed": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s21", "title": "Quyết định số 31/2021/QĐ-UBND ngày 01/11/2021 về Quy chế quản lý, sử dụng chỉ dẫn địa lý “Buôn Ma Thuột” đối với sản phẩm cà phê Robusta", "authors": "Ủy ban nhân dân tỉnh Đắk Lắk (People’s Committee of Đắk Lắk province)", "year": 2021, "publisher": "Đắk Lắk Provincial People’s Committee; text read on caselaw.vn", "url": "https://caselaw.vn/van-ban-phap-luat/397432-quyet-dinh-so-31-2021-qd-ubnd-ngay-01-11-2021-cua-tinh-dak-lak-ve-quy-che-quan-ly-su-dung-chi-dan-dia-ly-buon-ma-thuot-doi-voi-san-pham-ca-phe-robusta", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Provincial legal regulation, in force from 11 Nov 2021 as consulted; a later provincial decision may have replaced it (not consulted). Its Annex I lists the communes of ten district-level units.", "quote": "cà phê nhân, cà phê hạt rang, cà phê bột, cà phê hòa tan nguyên chất", "quotes": [ { "text": "có hiệu lực thi hành kể từ ngày 11 tháng 11 năm 2021", "for": "entry into force" } ], "accessed": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s22", "title": "Nghị quyết số 202/2025/QH15 của Quốc hội về việc sắp xếp đơn vị hành chính cấp tỉnh", "authors": "Quốc hội (National Assembly of Vietnam)", "year": 2025, "publisher": "National Assembly; text published by Đại biểu Nhân dân (National Assembly newspaper)", "url": "https://daibieunhandan.vn/nghi-quyet-ve-viec-sap-xep-don-vi-hanh-chinh-cap-tinh-10375832.html", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Resolution adopted 12 June 2025; the new provincial authorities began work on 1 July 2025.", "quote": "Sắp xếp toàn bộ diện tích tự nhiên, quy mô dân số của tỉnh Phú Yên và tỉnh Đắk Lắk thành tỉnh mới có tên gọi là tỉnh Đắk Lắk.", "quotes": [ { "text": "Sắp xếp toàn bộ diện tích tự nhiên, quy mô dân số của tỉnh Đắk Nông, tỉnh Bình Thuận và tỉnh Lâm Đồng", "for": "new Lâm Đồng" }, { "text": "Sắp xếp toàn bộ diện tích tự nhiên, quy mô dân số của tỉnh Bình Định và tỉnh Gia Lai thành tỉnh mới", "for": "new Gia Lai" }, { "text": "Sắp xếp toàn bộ diện tích tự nhiên, quy mô dân số của tỉnh Kon Tum và tỉnh Quảng Ngãi thành tỉnh mới", "for": "Kon Tum into Quảng Ngãi" }, { "text": "Sắp xếp toàn bộ diện tích tự nhiên, quy mô dân số của tỉnh Quảng Bình và tỉnh Quảng Trị thành tỉnh mới", "for": "new Quảng Trị" }, { "text": "Sắp xếp toàn bộ diện tích tự nhiên, quy mô dân số của tỉnh Bình Phước và tỉnh Đồng Nai thành tỉnh mới", "for": "new Đồng Nai" }, { "text": "Sắp xếp toàn bộ diện tích tự nhiên, quy mô dân số của Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, tỉnh Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu và tỉnh Bình Dương", "for": "Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu into Ho Chi Minh City" }, { "text": "chính thức hoạt động từ ngày 01 tháng 7 năm 2025.", "for": "start date" } ], "accessed": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s23", "title": "Key EVFTA commitments on Geographical Indications?", "authors": "WTO Center, Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI)", "publisher": "WTO Center (wtocenter.vn), VCCI", "url": "https://wtocenter.vn/german-market/19030-key-evfta-commitments-on-geographical-indications", "tier": "B", "tierNote": "Business-chamber summary of Annex 12-A of the EU–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement; the official EUR-Lex text could not be accessed (robots exclusion). Second source for the EU listing; the official treaty text is source 28.", "quote": "Buon Ma Thuot - Coffee beans", "quotes": [], "accessed": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s24", "title": "Công bố chỉ dẫn địa lý “Lâm Đồng” cho sản phẩm cà phê", "authors": "Báo Lâm Đồng", "year": 2025, "publisher": "Báo Lâm Đồng (provincial newspaper)", "url": "https://baolamdong.vn/cong-bo-chi-dan-dia-ly-lam-dong-cho-san-pham-ca-phe-395796.html", "tier": "B", "tierNote": "Provincial newspaper report of the handover of the certificate; no registration number given. Used only to name the indication and its products, without numbers or dates.", "quote": "cà phê nhân, cà phê hạt rang và cà phê bột", "quotes": [], "accessed": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s25", "title": "TCVN 4193:2014 Cà phê nhân (Green coffee) – Yêu cầu kỹ thuật", "authors": "Ministry of Science and Technology, Vietnam (proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development)", "year": 2014, "publisher": "Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality, Vietnam (preview on Thư Viện Pháp Luật)", "url": "https://thuvienphapluat.vn/tcvn/cong-nghe-thuc-pham/tcvn-4193-2014-ca-phe-nhan-908127.aspx?temp=d", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "National standard; only a partial preview was openly available, so its numeric grade tables are not used", "quote": "Tiêu chuẩn này áp dụng cho cà phê nhân: cà phê chè (Arabica) và cà phê vối (Robusta).", "quotes": [], "accessed": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s26", "title": "Addition of Vietnam as a Deliverable Origin on the Coffee “C”® Futures Contract", "year": 2025, "publisher": "ICE Futures U.S.", "url": "https://www.ice.com/publicdocs/futures_us/exchange_notices/Exchange_Notice_Vietnam_Deliverable_Origin_Coffee_20250401.pdf", "tier": "A", "quote": "at a differential of 6 cents per pound under par", "quotes": [ { "text": "pounds of washed arabica coffee of the growths of Brazil", "for": "washed arabica only" } ], "accessed": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s27", "title": "Xây dựng dữ liệu rừng và vùng trồng cà phê tuân thủ EUDR (Building forest and coffee-growing-area data for EUDR compliance)", "authors": "Báo Điện tử Chính phủ (Government News, Vietnam)", "year": 2024, "publisher": "Báo Điện tử Chính phủ (baochinhphu.vn)", "url": "https://baochinhphu.vn/xay-dung-du-lieu-rung-va-vung-trong-ca-phe-tuan-thu-eudr-102241217184201362.htm", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "A for what the government's official news outlet reports on the ministry's work.", "quote": "Hệ thống cơ sở dữ liệu rừng và vùng trồng cà phê tuân thủ EUDR tại 4 huyện thí điểm", "quotes": [], "accessed": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s28", "title": "EU–Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement, Annex 12-A: List of Geographical Indications", "authors": "European Union; Socialist Republic of Viet Nam", "year": 2020, "publisher": "Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam (official English text of the agreement)", "url": "https://vntr.moit.gov.vn/storage/agreement/evfta/1-eu-vietnam-trade-agreement-en/121-annex-12-a-en.pdf", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Treaty text published by a government ministry; Part B lists the GIs of Viet Nam (GI No, Designation Name, Product Class, Product Description). EUR-Lex could not be reached (robots exclusion).", "quote": "Buôn Ma Thuột Spices Coffee beans", "quotes": [], "accessed": "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z" } ], "markdown": "## Snapshot\n\nVietnam is the second-largest coffee producer, after Brazil. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) puts its 2025/26 crop at 31.7 million bags of 60 kg.1 That is 17.7% of the world total of 178.8 million bags (our calculation).1 For 2026/27, USDA forecasts a record 32.5 million bags, from a larger area and higher yields.1\n\nIn the statistics of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Vietnam was also second in 2024, with 2,015,289 t of green coffee.3 That is 18.1% of the 78 countries’ total (our calculation).3 Coffee production by country gives 17.9%, measured against FAO’s world total.\n\nVietnam grows almost only robusta (*C. canephora*). USDA counts 30.5 million bags of robusta and 1.2 million of arabica (*C. arabica*) for 2025/26.1 Arabica is 3.8% of the crop (our calculation).1 Vietnam grew 36.1% of the world’s robusta that year (our calculation).1\n\n## Where coffee grows\n\nMost Vietnamese coffee grows in the Central Highlands (Tây Nguyên).5 A 2025 USDA report names five provinces there: Dak Lak, Lam Dong, Dak Nong, Gia Lai and Kon Tum.5 Together they held 92% of the coffee area and grew 90% of the crop.5 A 2020 study puts the share of four of them in Vietnam’s coffee exports at about 90%.9\n\n
\n
\n
Interactive relief map of Vietnam. Layers: approximate coffee area by province in 2016/17 (USDA estimate), drawn in the borders before the 2025 mergers, with the province each became part of on 1 July 2025; geographical indications; the research institute WASI; and places in coffee history.6,22,20,18,16,19,7,28
\n
\n\n**Provinces before and after 2025.** Vietnam merged many provinces with effect from 1 July 2025.22 Đắk Lắk now includes Phú Yên, and Lâm Đồng includes Đắk Nông and Bình Thuận.22 Gia Lai includes Bình Định, Kon Tum became part of Quảng Ngãi, and Quảng Bình part of Quảng Trị.22 Sơn La and Điện Biên were not changed.22 This entry names provinces as each source names them and says which year applies.\n\n**Robusta and arabica.** A 2017 USDA estimate gives Dak Lak about 190,000 ha of coffee in 2016/17, Lam Dong 162,000 ha and Dak Nong 135,000 ha.6 Smaller areas lay in Gia Lai, Dong Nai, Binh Phuoc, Ba Ria – Vung Tau and Kontum.6 Arabica is grown in the north-west and around Khe Sanh, in Quảng Trị.17,19 Sơn La has about 17,000 ha of coffee, the most in the north, says a 2023 ministry page (year of data not stated).18 Around Khe Sanh, arabica is mostly Catimor, according to the trade ministry.19\n\n
\n
\n
Section across the southern Central Highlands, from the Cambodian lowlands through Buôn Ma Thuột and Đà Lạt to the coast. Shaded: the 400–800 m band of the Buôn Ma Thuột geographical indication (2010 regulation). The bracket marks where the line crosses the ten district-level units of the indication’s 2021 regulation. WASI is in Buôn Ma Thuột.20,21,16
\n
\n\n**Altitude.** The Buôn Ma Thuột indication covered robusta land at 400–800 m in its 2010 regulation.20 World Coffee Research gives 500–800 m as the best altitude for the clone TR9.15 A 2023 trade ministry news page describes Sơn La arabica as grown above 1,000 m.19 A 2023 study ran arabica trials in the north-west from 600 to 1,100 m.17 No source consulted gives a measured national altitude band.\n\n## Climate and harvest\n\nGrowers often pick robusta from late October to January, according to a 2017 USDA report.6 USDA’s marketing year for Vietnam runs from October to September.1 Harvest calendars compares Vietnam with other origins. No source consulted gives the harvest months for arabica.\n\n**Dry season and irrigation.** In the Central Highlands, the dry season lasts from January to April, and the rainy season from May to October.9 Rain supplies only 25% of the crop’s water demand in the dry months, so robusta needs irrigation.10 Groundwater is the main source.9 The water comes mainly from open wells dug on farms or from nearby lakes, depending on the province.9 Irrigation describes the methods and amounts.\n\n**Drought and rain.** In Dak Lak, the years 2015–2017 were especially dry, according to a 2020 study.9 Rain can also harm the harvest. In 2016, late rain from October to December slowed picking and drying and damaged the beans, according to USDA.6\n\n## Farms and people\n\nA 2008 study used data from smallholder coffee farms in the Central Highlands to examine how they responded to a fall in prices.8 A ten-year study followed 558 farms in 18 districts of four provinces.9 No official count of coffee households or farm sizes was consulted for this entry (see Open questions).\n\n**Area and yield.** USDA’s post in Hanoi estimated the coffee area in 2024 at about 730,000 ha, of which 92% was harvested.5 FAO gives an average yield of 2,970 kg/ha for 2024.4 That is the highest among the ten largest producers (our calculation), as Coffee yields shows.4\n\n**Inputs.** A 2021 study of Lâm Đồng states, in its description of the province, that about 72% of coffee households irrigate twice the standard requirement.11\n\n## Varieties\n\nThe Western Highlands Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute (WASI) breeds robusta in Vietnam.14 The institute has selected coffee since 1976 and was formerly the Coffee Research Institute.14 By 2017, the agriculture ministry (MARD) had recognised 11 of its robusta varieties.14 Three clones, TR4, TR9 and TR11, are largely used in the Central Highlands.14\n\nThe mother tree of TR9 came from a farm in Daklak province.15 A 2025 genetic study found that all Vietnamese robusta it tested traces back to the Congo Basin group of *C. canephora*.16 Coffea canephora describes the species.\n\n**Arabica.** At the Khe Sanh state farm, Catimor was selected after variety trials begun in 1978. The trade ministry puts its area at 4,421 ha and calls it the variety behind the Khe Sanh brand (year and area covered not stated).19\n\n## Processing\n\nNo source consulted gives the shares of natural, washed or honey processing in the Vietnamese crop. In 2016, late rain slowed both picking and drying, according to USDA.6 Natural process describes drying in the whole fruit.\n\nThe national standard TCVN 4193:2014 sets quality requirements for green coffee of both species.25 Green coffee grading describes it.\n\n**Specialty.** The agriculture ministry drew up a specialty coffee programme in 2021, according to USDA.5 No source consulted measures the share of fine or specialty robusta.\n\n## History\n\n**Legend and evidence.** A 2004 World Bank study states that coffee was first planted in Vietnam in 1857.7 It names no place and cites no evidence. A 2025 genetic study, citing the International Coffee Organization (ICO), dates the arrival of robusta to the 1900s.16 Citing older literature, it says robusta reached South-East Asia around 1900 via the Java Coffee Research Station in Indonesia; it does not say that Vietnam’s first robusta came by this route.16 Accounts that missionaries brought the first plants were not supported by any source consulted.\n\n**French plantations.** At Khe Sanh, coffee arrived early in the 20th century, in plantations run by the French, according to the trade ministry.19 The planted area stayed at a few thousand hectares until the 1970s.7\n\n**Đổi Mới and the expansion.** In 1986, the Đổi Mới policy allowed a private sector in agriculture.7 Frosts and a drought in Brazil, which raised prices, added to the incentive.7 Most of the growth, from about 40,000 to about 600,000 ha, came between the late 1980s and the late 1990s, according to the 2004 study.7 In FAO statistics, production rose from 92,000 t in 1990 to 802,500 t in 2000.2\n\n**Migration and the highlands.** The government encouraged ethnic Vietnamese (Kinh) to move into New Economic Zones in the western Central Highlands.7 Later, spontaneous migration overtook the planned moves.7 For some ethnic minority groups, coffee offered an alternative to slash-and-burn farming. Falling prices later caused tension between minorities and ethnic Vietnamese, the study reports.7 A 2008 study describes this as a coffee boom followed by a bust.8 Coffee price history covers the price fall after 1989.\n\n## Trade and institutions\n\n**Exports.** USDA counts 28.5 million bags of exports in 2025/26.1 Of these, 25.1 million were green coffee, 2.7 million soluble coffee and 0.7 million roasted coffee, in green bean equivalent.1 USDA’s post reported in 2025 that 41% of Vietnam’s coffee exports go to the European Union.5\n\n**Prices and ports.** USDA quotes Vietnamese robusta export prices free on board (FOB) Ho Chi Minh City.6 No official source consulted gives exports by port. How robusta is priced on the London futures market is covered in Coffee futures. From the May 2027 contract, Vietnamese washed arabica is also deliverable on New York, at 6 US cents per lb under par.26 Differentials explains the discount.\n\n**Coffee at home.** Vietnamese drank 4.9 million bags in 2025/26, by USDA’s estimate: 15.5% of the crop (our calculation).1 USDA expects a record 5.0 million bags in 2026/27.1 Coffee consumption by country shows the growth since 2021/22.\n\n**Institutions.** The agriculture ministry (MARD; since 2025 the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) recognised new varieties and issued irrigation advice.14,9,5 WASI, in Buôn Ma Thuột, is the coffee research institute.16 The Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association (VICOFA) is the trade body.7 In December 2024, the ministry handed over a pilot database of forests and coffee areas in four districts to meet the EU deforestation rules.27 EUDR covers the regulation.\n\n**Geographical indications.** The Buôn Ma Thuột indication for robusta was registered by the national intellectual property office on 14 October 2005.20 Sơn La coffee received an indication in 2017.18 Details are under Geographical indications.\n\n\n\n## Production over time\n\nThe FAO series runs from 1961. Production stayed below 10,000 t a year until 1984, then rose to 25,000 t in 1986.2 It reached 100,000 t in 1991 and passed 800,000 t in 2000.2 After a peak of 1,251,000 t in 2007, it fell to 1,055,811 t in 2008. It then grew, with a small dip in 2012, to 2,015,289 t in 2024, the highest value.2 Production in 2024 was about 22 times that of 1990 (our calculation).2\n\n
\n
\n
Green coffee production of Vietnam, 1961–2024, in thousand tonnes, from FAO statistics by calendar year. The rise after the mid-1980s follows the Đổi Mới reforms of 1986.2,7
\n
\n\n| Year | t | Year | t | Year | t | Year | t |\n|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|\n| 1961 | 4,1002 | 1977 | 5,6002 | 1993 | 136,1002 | 2009 | 1,057,539.62 |\n| 1962 | 4,0202 | 1978 | 5,4002 | 1994 | 180,0002 | 2010 | 1,105,7002 |\n| 1963 | 4,5002 | 1979 | 5,1002 | 1995 | 218,0002 | 2011 | 1,276,5062 |\n| 1964 | 5,5002 | 1980 | 8,4002 | 1996 | 320,1002 | 2012 | 1,260,4632 |\n| 1965 | 7,5002 | 1981 | 5,3002 | 1997 | 420,5002 | 2013 | 1,326,6882 |\n| 1966 | 6,3002 | 1982 | 5,3002 | 1998 | 409,3002 | 2014 | 1,406,4692 |\n| 1967 | 7,0002 | 1983 | 5,7002 | 1999 | 553,2002 | 2015 | 1,452,999.22 |\n| 1968 | 6,0002 | 1984 | 4,8002 | 2000 | 802,5002 | 2016 | 1,460,8002 |\n| 1969 | 6,5002 | 1985 | 12,3002 | 2001 | 840,6002 | 2017 | 1,542,397.92 |\n| 1970 | 7,3002 | 1986 | 25,0002 | 2002 | 699,5002 | 2018 | 1,616,307.22 |\n| 1971 | 6,5002 | 1987 | 27,5002 | 2003 | 793,7002 | 2019 | 1,686,765.12 |\n| 1972 | 7,0002 | 1988 | 42,0002 | 2004 | 913,8002 | 2020 | 1,763,4762 |\n| 1973 | 6,6002 | 1989 | 40,9002 | 2005 | 831,0002 | 2021 | 1,845,0332 |\n| 1974 | 6,0002 | 1990 | 92,0002 | 2006 | 985,3002 | 2022 | 1,953,990.12 |\n| 1975 | 6,8002 | 1991 | 100,0002 | 2007 | 1,251,0002 | 2023 | 1,956,782.52 |\n| 1976 | 9,7002 | 1992 | 119,2002 | 2008 | 1,055,8112 | 2024 | 2,015,2892 |\n\n**USDA’s recent series.** In USDA’s tables, production was 31.58 million bags in 2021/22, 28.3 million in 2022/23, 27.55 million in 2023/24, 29.0 million in 2024/25 and 31.7 million in 2025/26.1 USDA uses a marketing year from October to September; FAO uses calendar years.1,3 The FAO value for 2024 equals about 33.6 million bags (our calculation), more than either USDA year around it (see Contested).3\n\n## Coffee by province\n\nNo provincial table of the national statistics office (GSO, since 2025 NSO) could be accessed for this entry. The table below therefore uses one other official dataset: the USDA post’s estimate of coffee area by province for 2016/17.6 USDA compiled it from provincial agriculture departments, the agriculture ministry, exporters and traders, and calls the areas approximate.6 It gives area only, not production.\n\n
\n
\n
Approximate coffee area by province in marketing year 2016/17, in hectares, with province names as the source gives them (before the mergers of 2025). Data: USDA post estimate from provincial and ministry data.6
\n
\n\n| Province (as in source) | Area 2016/17 (ha) | Share (our calculation) | Province since 1 July 2025 | Area 2001 (ha), World Bank |\n|---|---|---|---|---|\n| Dak Lak | 190,0006 | 28.7% | Đắk Lắk22 | 257,100 (“Dac Lac”)7 |\n| Lam Dong | 162,0006 | 24.5% | Lâm Đồng22 | 124,3007 |\n| Dak Nong | 135,0006 | 20.4% | Lâm Đồng22 | – |\n| Gia Lai | 82,5006 | 12.5% | Gia Lai22 | 81,0007 |\n| Dong Nai | 21,0006 | 3.2% | Đồng Nai22 | – |\n| Binh Phuoc | 16,0006 | 2.4% | Đồng Nai22 | – |\n| Ba Ria – Vung Tau | 15,0006 | 2.3% | Ho Chi Minh City22 | – |\n| Kontum | 13,5006 | 2.0% | Quảng Ngãi22 | 14,400 (“Kon Tum”)7 |\n| Son La | 12,0006 | 1.8% | Sơn La (unchanged)22 | – |\n| Quang Tri | 5,0006 | 0.8% | Quảng Trị22 | – |\n| Dien Bien | 4,5006 | 0.7% | Điện Biên (unchanged)22 | – |\n| Others | 5,7006 | 0.9% | – | – |\n| Total | 662,2006 | 100% | – | 566,800 planted, 420,300 in production7 |\n\nThe five Central Highland provinces held 583,000 ha, 88.0% of the total (our calculation).6 In the borders of 2025, Lâm Đồng (with Dak Nong) would hold at least 297,000 ha of that 2016/17 area, 44.9% (our calculation).6,22 The 2001 column is from the 2004 World Bank study, which gives no source for it and lists only four Central Highland provinces.7 The study warns that historical area data are indicative at best.7\n\n## Area and yield\n\nUSDA’s post estimated the total coffee area at about 730,000 ha in 2024, with 92% harvested; trees on the rest were too young.5 Its Table 1 estimates 615,000 ha of robusta harvested in 2024/25, at an average of 2.73 t/ha.5 FAO’s national average for 2024 is 2,970 kg/ha.4 FAO’s yield has risen from 2,447 kg/ha in 2015.4\n\nYields measured on surveyed farms are given in Coffee yields. WASI reports a yield potential of 7.3 t/ha for TR4 in its trials.14\n\n## Irrigation and water\n\n| Item | Value | Source |\n|---|---|---|\n| Dry season, Central Highlands | January–April; rainy season May–October | Byrareddy et al. 20209 |\n| Rain as share of crop demand, dry season | 25% | Amarasinghe et al. 201510 |\n| Main water source | Groundwater; water mainly from open wells on farms or nearby lakes, depending on the province | Byrareddy et al. 20209 |\n| Traditional methods | Basin and sprinkler | Byrareddy et al. 20209 |\n| Over-irrigation, Lâm Đồng | ≈72% of households apply twice the standard | Tran et al. 202111 |\n| Survey farms | 558 farms, 18 districts, four provinces | Byrareddy et al. 20209 |\n\nThe ministry’s advice, the amounts farms apply and the proposed savings are given in Irrigation. No study consulted for this entry measured how fast coffee irrigation lowers groundwater in the Central Highlands.\n\n## Research institute WASI\n\nWASI, the Western Highlands Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute, is based in Buôn Ma Thuột.16 It has bred coffee since 1976.14\n\n| Clone | Recognised by MARD | Reported traits | Source |\n|---|---|---|---|\n| TR4 | 2006 | Yield potential 7.3 t/ha in trials; 100-bean weight over 18 g | Phan 201714 |\n| TR9 | 2011 | 100-bean weight 22.5 g; best altitude 500–800 m; mother tree from Daklak | Phan 201714, WCR15 |\n| TR11 | 2011 | Widely planted with TR4 and TR9 | Phan 201714 |\n| TRS1 | 2015 | Quick seedling supply for replanting | Phan 201714 |\n| TR14, TR15 | Not stated | Described as promising under climate change | Phan 201714 |\n\nA 2025 genomic study included WASI’s elite clones TR4 to TR15. All Vietnamese accessions showed Congo Basin ancestry; some hybrid individuals also carried contributions from other genetic groups.16\n\n## Geographical indications\n\nVietnam’s intellectual property office (Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ) registers geographical indications (*chỉ dẫn địa lý*).18 The table lists the coffee indications found in the sources consulted. No registration numbers were found in an official source.\n\n| Name | Product | Registered | Area as described | Source |\n|---|---|---|---|---|\n| Buôn Ma Thuột | Robusta green coffee (2010); green, roasted, ground and pure soluble robusta (2021 regulation) | Decision 896/QĐ-SHTT, 14 Oct 2005 | Communes of ten district-level units of Đắk Lắk (2021); land at 400–800 m (2010) | Đắk Lắk20,21 |\n| Sơn La | Green, roasted and ground coffee | 2017 | Not given in the source consulted | MOIT18 |\n| Khe Sanh | Arabica | Not registered as of 2023; being prepared | Area around Khe Sanh, Hướng Hóa district, Quảng Trị | MOIT19 |\n| Lâm Đồng | Arabica and robusta: green, roasted and ground | Reported by the provincial newspaper; details not confirmed in an official source | Not given | Báo Lâm Đồng24 |\n\nThe 2010 Buôn Ma Thuột regulation also set a bean size of 10–11 mm long, 6–7 mm wide and 3–4 mm thick.20\n\n**European Union.** Buôn Ma Thuột is listed in Annex 12-A, Part B, of the EU–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement as GI no. 3, product class “Spices”, description “Coffee beans”.28,23\n\n## Climate risk\n\nA 2020 study of 798 farms in South-East Asia found that robusta yields best below a mean temperature of 20.5 °C, cooler than earlier estimates.12 A 2015 global model finds that the main production regions of Brazil and Vietnam may lose substantial suitable area.13 Citing such models, a 2025 study states that the most suitable croplands of the Central Highlands may shrink by more than 50% by 2050.16 These are model projections, not forecasts by Coffearium.\n\nWater is the second risk. Robusta depends on irrigation in the dry season, and groundwater is the main source.10,9 Dak Lak had especially dry years in 2015–2017.9\n\n## Reference values\n\n| Parameter | Value | Source |\n|---|---|---|\n| Production, USDA | 31.7 million 60-kg bags (2025/26); 32.5 million forecast (2026/27) | USDA1 |\n| Robusta / arabica, USDA | 30.5 / 1.2 million bags (2025/26) | USDA1 |\n| Production, FAO | 2,015,289 t (2024; ≈33.6 million bags, our calculation) | FAO3 |\n| Share of world output | 17.7% (2025/26, USDA); 18.1% (2024, FAO); our calculation | USDA1, FAO3 |\n| Share of world robusta | 36.1% (2025/26, our calculation) | USDA1 |\n| Coffee area | ≈730,000 ha, 92% harvested (2024, post estimate) | USDA5 |\n| Central Highlands | 92% of area, 90% of output (2025 report) | USDA5 |\n| Yield | 2,970 kg/ha (2024) | FAO4 |\n| Harvest, robusta | Late October to January (2017 report) | USDA6 |\n| Marketing year (USDA) | October–September | USDA1 |\n| Dry season | January–April | Byrareddy et al.9 |\n| Altitude, Buôn Ma Thuột indication | 400–800 m (2010 regulation) | Đắk Lắk20 |\n| Altitude, arabica | Above 1,000 m in Sơn La (ministry news page); trials at 600–1,100 m in the north-west | MOIT19, Sarzynski et al.17 |\n| Exports | 28.5 million bags: 25.1 green, 2.7 soluble, 0.7 roasted (2025/26) | USDA1 |\n| Share of exports to the EU | 41% (2025 report) | USDA5 |\n| Domestic consumption | 4.9 million bags (2025/26); 5.0 million forecast (2026/27) | USDA1 |\n| Robusta varieties recognised from WASI | 11 (as of 2017) | Phan 201714 |\n| Buôn Ma Thuột indication | Registered by Decision 896/QĐ-SHTT, 14 Oct 2005 (as stated in the 2010 regulation) | Đắk Lắk20 |\n| First coffee planted | 1857 (no place or evidence given) | World Bank7 |\n| Provinces merged | 1 July 2025 | National Assembly22 |\n\n## Open questions\n\n- **Official provincial statistics.** The statistics office’s yearbook could not be accessed, so production by province and a recent area by province are missing. The provincial table rests on a 2017 USDA estimate.6\n- **Farm structure.** No official count of coffee households or farm sizes from the agricultural census was consulted.\n- **Processing shares.** No source consulted gives the shares of natural, washed, honey or wet-polished coffee.\n- **Arabica harvest.** No source consulted gives the harvest months for arabica in Sơn La, Quảng Trị or Lâm Đồng.\n- **First introduction.** The 1857 date rests on one World Bank study without evidence; who brought coffee, and where, is not established.7\n- **Indications.** Registration numbers, the later Đắk Lắk regulation and the status of Khe Sanh could not be confirmed in official texts.21,19\n- **Ports.** No official source consulted gives exports by port.\n\n## Key studies\n\n
\n

Lewin, Giovannucci and Varangis, 2004 – Coffee markets after the crisis. A World Bank review of the price collapse after 1989. Its Vietnam section traces the expansion from about 40,000 to 600,000 ha after the Đổi Mới reforms, and the migration of ethnic Vietnamese into the Central Highlands.

\n

World Bank, Agriculture and Rural Development Discussion Paper 3 · documents1.worldbank.org

\n
\n\n
\n

Byrareddy et al., 2020 – Irrigation on 558 robusta farms. Ten years of irrigation and yield records from four Central Highland provinces. Groundwater is the main source; water comes mainly from wells dug on farms or from nearby lakes, and the dry season runs from January to April.

\n

Agricultural Water Management 241, 106350 · doi:10.1016/j.agwat.2020.106350

\n
\n\n
\n

Kath et al., 2020 – Robusta is not so robust. Combined ten years of yields from 798 farms in South-East Asia with climate data. Yields peaked below a mean of 20.5 °C, much cooler than assumed for robusta.

\n

Global Change Biology 26(6), 3677–3688 · doi:10.1111/gcb.15097

\n
\n\n
\n

Phan, 2017 – Robusta breeding in Vietnam. Summarises four decades of selection at WASI, with 11 robusta varieties recognised by the ministry. TR4, TR9 and TR11 are largely used in the Central Highlands.

\n

Vietnam Journal of Science, Technology and Engineering 59(4), 37–41 · doi:10.31276/VJSTE.59(4).37

\n
\n\n
\n

Vi et al., 2025 – Genomic footprints of Vietnamese robusta. Studied the genomes of Vietnamese robusta, including WASI’s elite clones TR4 to TR15. All accessions showed Congo Basin ancestry; some hybrid individuals also carried contributions from other genetic groups.

\n

PLOS One 20(5), e0324988 · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0324988

\n
" }