Vietnamese Coffee Smashes Price Records, Vietnamese Robusta Becomes 'Money-Printing Machine' – CoffeeTalk

Vietnam’s coffee industry has seen a significant leap forward, with Vietnamese Robusta coffee becoming the most expensive in the world. In early 2025, the Central Highlands, Vietnam’s coffee capital, is in the peak of its harvest season, with green coffee beans remaining at an all-time high of $4.80-$4.87 per kilogram. Farmers are seeing record profits, earning $3.24 per kilogram in profit. Looking back at 2024, domestic coffee prices nearly doubled, rising from $2.72-$2.84 per kilogram to $4.91-$5.00 per kilogram. At its peak, Robusta beans surged to $5.33 per kilogram, while fresh coffee cherries exceeded $1.22 per kilogram – higher than the price of processed beans in 2020.

In the Central Highlands, coffee has been likened to an ATM, generating billions of dong for farmers in 2024. On the international market, Vietnam’s rich, bold Robusta has been in high demand. By mid-2024, specialty coffee from Son La was sold out immediately after debuting in Chicago, USA. At Phuc Sinh’s factories, 8,000 tons of coffee (equivalent to 400 containers) were completely out of stock. The company has exported to the Middle East and Europe, but a surprising development was the growing demand from Asian buyers, who have actively built long-term purchasing relationships.

Vietnam had 718,000 hectares of coffee plantations in 2024, producing 1.95 million tons. For years, coffee has been a key industrial crop, providing livelihoods for hundreds of thousands of farming households. Vietnam is now one of the top five coffee producers and exporters in the world, holding the number one position in Robusta production.

By November 2024, Robusta prices hit a record $5,533 per ton. The average export price for Vietnamese coffee rose from $3,054 per ton to $5,450 per ton, peaking at $5,855 per ton. For the full year, Vietnam’s export coffee price averaged $4,158 per ton, an increase of 59.1% compared to 2023. By the end of 2024, Vietnam exported 1.35 million tons of coffee, generating $5.62 billion, exceeding all previous forecasts.

Despite Vietnam’s high-value specialty coffee being available in over 80 countries, the majority of exports are still in raw form. Compared to Thailand and Malaysia, Vietnamese coffee brands remain underrepresented in global markets. Vietnam must invest in branding and establish a clear classification system from standard to premium grades to enhance export value.

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