According to Dr. Le Ngoc Bau, Head of Western Highlands Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute, Vietnam’s coffee export prices might increase if they can resolve the problems related to replanting and coffee quality.

 Vietnamese workers processing coffee. Photo by Vn Economy

There are many opinions that suggest Vietnam has become the world's single largest exporter of robusta coffee. Is it right?

It's true that Vietnam’s robusta coffee productivity is three times higher than other countries. However, the quality is less than desired because the growers often harvest when the coffee is too young and the processing techniques are also poor.

This bad habit developed due to the grower fears that they'd lose profits because of theft and labour shortages. The authorities in the Central Highlands must tighten security during the harvest seasons to create favourable working condition for the growers.

A huge coffee growing area in the Central Highlands is in serious needs of replanting but we lack the human resources to re-cultivate the land. What do you think is the most feasible solution for this problem?

Vietnam's coffee sector experienced rapid growth throughout the 1990s. In 1990, we had 120,000 hectares of cultivated area and it increased to 560,000 hectares in 2000. That's why we’ve faced huge replanting problem since 2010.

To be able to replant, the growers will need to invest VND120 million (USD5,700) per hectare, but they can only harvest coffee after five years. Currently, the government doesn’t provide support programmes through the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development as it has concentrated on providing funds for research.

I think the growers should not replant their whole land but divide it into three or four parts to reduce the cost.

What are our the main obstacles for the development of coffee processing technology and what do you think about the current competition between domestic and foreign coffee brands?

The growers should shed the habit of harvesting unripe coffee beans before we can achieve anything else.

Nestle and Starbucks dominate the world market and Trung Nguyen Coffee brand has been doing well in protecting their domestic market share. However, I don't really like Trung Nguyen's marketing.