Vietnam’s coffee production in the season that started Oct. 1 will be a record 29 million bags, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service said.
The estimate is 17 percent higher than the USDA’s official estimate of 24.8 million bags, FAS said in a report on the USDA website. Exports will also be a record at 25.6 million bags, versus the USDA’s estimate of 23.6 million bags, according to the report.

Vietnam’s coffee crop in 2012-13 was 26.5 million bags, with 25.6 million bags of robusta beans and 900,000 bags of arabica, according to the report. In 2013-14, the breakdown will be 27.8 million bags of robusta and 1.167 million bags of arabica, FAS said.

“Coffee cultivated area continues to expand in major growing areas, especially in Dak Lak, Lam Dong and Dak Nong provinces, despite the government of Vietnam’s recommendation to maintain at 500,000 hectares of coffee area in Vietnam due to the price competitiveness of coffee vis-a-vis other crops the past three marketing years,” FAS said. “Based on estimated statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Develoment, Provincial Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development and local coffee industry, Vietnam’s coffee area is estimated at 633,295 hectares in 2013, about a 3 percent increase from the previous year. Actual coffee area likely exceeds government official estimates.”