The first Viet Nam Coffee Day will take place in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong’s Da Lat City on December 9-11, local authorities and the Viet Nam Coffee and Cocoa Association (VICOFA) announced.

The event, featuring many products of Viet Nam’s famous coffee localities nationwide, is described as an opportunity to promote products to domestic and international consumers, raising the values of Vietnamese goods on the international market.

An international conference on the development of domestic coffee sector is scheduled to be held on the sidelines of the event, with the participation of representatives from coffee-producing countries and the International Coffee Organisation (ICO).

Over the past nine months, the country’s coffee exports dropped 20.5 per cent in volume to 1.11 million tonnes, but the value went up 1.3 per cent to US$2.55 billion as export prices were on the increase, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The sharp decline in nine-month export volume was attributed to the 2016-17 crop failure. However, the ministry forecast that the remaining months of this year will be favourable for Viet Nam’s coffee exports as farmers start harvesting the 2017-18 crop, resulting in an increase in supply. — VNS