The third Coffee Expo Vietnam 2018 will be held in HCM City next week, attracting 250 brands from 10 nations.

The event, which is slated from November 1-3 at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre (SECC), will display and introduce equipment and materials for coffee making, as well as bakery tools and materials from domestic and international brands.

The annual expo also offers coffee and confectionary business and shop owners to seek sources of high-quality materials as well as learn about business and investment activities.

A highlight of the event will be the Viet Nam Super Barista Championship with prizes worth up to VND200 million (US$8,584).

Coffee was first cultivated in Viet Nam in 1857. To date, Viet Nam’s coffee plantations cover 20,000ha. The country exports 1.8 million tonnes of coffee beans, raking in $3.2 billion per year. Viet Nam is currently the world’s second largest coffee exporter, after Brazil.

Viet Nam exported 1.46 million tonnes of coffee worth $2.77 billion in the first nine months of 2018, an increase of 20.1 per cent in volume and 0.4 per cent in value compared to the same period last year. — VNS