Coffee – A Key Export Commodity in Vietnam's Agriculture Sector

Coffee has long been one of Vietnam’s leading agricultural exports, not only contributing significantly to export turnover but also creating jobs for millions of workers. Today, the coffee industry is undergoing a significant transformation toward value enhancement, particularly through increasing the proportion of deep-processed products rather than focusing solely on raw, low-priced green beans.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, in March 2025, Vietnam exported approximately 200,000 tons of coffee with a total value of USD 1.16 billion. In the first three months of 2025, the country exported a total of 509,500 tons, earning USD 2.88 billion. Despite a 12.9% decrease in volume compared to the same period last year, the value surged by 49.5%—a positive result that clearly reflects the impact of prioritizing value over volume.

Notably, the average export price in Q1 2025 reached about USD 5,656 per ton, up 71.7% year-on-year—a substantial increase indicating a shift toward higher-value products.

Vietnam – A Global Coffee Powerhouse Repositioning Its Value

In 2024, Vietnam was the world’s second-largest coffee exporter after Brazil, accounting for 19% of global market share. The sector contributed USD 5.48 billion to the economy, representing 8.7% of the country’s total agricultural, forestry, and fishery export turnover—just behind wood, fruits and vegetables, and rice.

However, a key weakness remains: most of the coffee exported is still in the form of green beans, which have relatively low value. Specifically, in 2024, 90.4% of exported coffee was unprocessed green beans, while value-added products like roasted and instant coffee—often worth double or more—accounted for just 9.6%.

According to Mr. To Xuan Phuc, an expert from Forest Trends, the increase in the proportion of deep-processed coffee from 8.8% (2022) to 9.6% (2024) is a promising sign that Vietnam’s coffee industry is gradually moving away from raw exports and into higher-value chains. The average FOB price of deep-processed coffee is currently 2.23 times higher than that of green beans, presenting great potential for profit if scaled further.

Opportunities from Export Markets and Trade Agreements

Vietnamese coffee is now present in over 90 countries. Europe remains the largest importer of green coffee, with key markets including Germany (14%), Italy (10%), Spain, and the Netherlands. The U.S. leads in importing roasted coffee, while Asia is the top market for instant coffee—particularly Japan, the Philippines, China, and Indonesia.

This diverse market structure provides a solid foundation for Vietnamese coffee exporters to leverage trade agreements such as EVFTA, CPTPP, and RCEP to expand market share, reduce tariffs, and improve competitiveness. Deepening access to demanding markets is a key driver for enterprises to improve production processes, product quality, and national brand recognition.

Challenges That Must Be Addressed

Despite many positive signals, Vietnam’s coffee industry continues to face several major challenges:

• Aging coffee plantations requiring replanting account for about 15% of total area, affecting yield and bean quality.
• Only 29% of coffee meets sustainability certification standards, making it difficult to satisfy strict high-end market demands.
• Monoculture practices dominate 70% of cultivation, heavily reliant on chemical fertilizers and irrigation, causing environmental issues such as groundwater depletion and soil degradation.
• Climate change is increasingly impacting yields and crop quality.
• Outdated harvesting and post-harvest practices reduce the quality of semi-processed coffee.
• Value chains remain fragmented, with small-scale, unsustainable production.
• Deep-processed coffee only makes up about 15% of total output, limiting added value.
• There is no cohesive national branding strategy, leading to limited international recognition of Vietnamese coffee products.

The Shift Toward Sustainability and Value Addition

To maintain its position and ensure long-term development, the coffee industry must pivot toward sustainability—across production, processing, and branding. Current policies are designed not only to offer direct support but to promote comprehensive changes, from replanting and farmer training to supply chain improvement and trade promotion.

According to Mr. Do Ha Nam, Chairman of the Vietnam Coffee-Cocoa Association, the key solutions for boosting value include:

• Diversifying export markets to reduce reliance on a few large buyers.
• Fully utilizing free trade agreements (FTAs) to expand access and cut tariffs.
• Investing in deep-processing technology to improve quality and meet international standards.
• Developing a strong national coffee brand to enhance global recognition.

Mr. To Xuan Phuc also emphasizes that sustainable value enhancement should focus on three pillars:

1. Replanting and rehabilitating coffee farms to ensure long-term productivity and quality.
2. Improving product quality and processing capacity, especially in deep processing.
3. Strengthening value chain linkages—from growers and processors to exporters and end markets.

EximGPT's Perspective: Optimizing Coffee Exports Through Digital Technology

As the coffee industry transitions and seeks higher value, technology is playing an increasingly crucial role—from traceability and supply chain management to marketing and global partner sourcing. This is where EximGPT becomes a strategic ally for Vietnamese agricultural exporters.

With features such as:

• Automated drafting of professional, industry-specific English export emails, helping businesses connect with international clients more effectively.
• Market analysis and strategic outreach suggestions based on current export trends.
• Generating sales letters, quotations, follow-up emails, and contracts in just a few clicks—saving time and boosting response rates.
• Email templates tailored for specific regions like the EU, U.S., and Asia, aligned with different coffee product categories (green beans, instant, roasted…).

EximGPT is more than a tool—it’s a smart partner helping businesses go global faster, more efficiently, and more professionally.

Conclusion

Vietnam’s coffee industry is at a crucial turning point: continue down the path of raw commodity exports, or boldly shift toward sustainability and high value. Increasing the proportion of deep-processed exports is the right move, but it requires a synchronized effort across farmers, businesses, government, and technology.

Here, tools like EximGPT can act as a lever for small and medium-sized enterprises to fully capitalize on trade agreements, shorten the time to reach clients, and enhance export performance.

Digital transformation and deep processing—this is the “power duo” that will help Vietnamese coffee conquer demanding markets and maintain its position on the global export map.