Noru

TYPHOON NORU SPARES VIETNAM’S COFFEE, INDONESIA’S SUPPLIES TIGHTEN

Noru, one of the strongest storms in the last two decades, hit the Central Highlands, Vietnam’s largest coffee-growing region, but did not cause critical damage. The provinces of Gia Lai and Kon Tum received the most rain but without significant damage to the crop.

Bartalks recently reported that Noru would sweep over Vietnam and threaten the coffee fields. It was predicted that the storm would pass over the coffee-growing areas of Central Highlands before weakening as it reached Thailand. Fortunately, the typhoon largely spared Vietnamese farmers, only causing some weaker cherries to drop.

Normally the harvest in Vietnam goes from October to January, but a local trader told Reuters that this year, it would be delayed to November, making it too early to comment on the quality of this year’s harvest. Many farmers have used less fertiliser because of the high prices, and this is expected to have a negative impact on quality.

Vietnamese coffee exports reportedly rose 13.7% to 1.3 million tonnes in the first nine months of 2022, equivalent to 21.7 million 60-kg bags. Vietnam is the world’s second-largest producer and the largest producer of Robusta.

Total Robusta Coffee Production in Vietnam 2014-2022

As last year’s supplies run out, the price of Robusta has risen and is likely to continue to do so, due to the late harvest, and in part due to a tightening of supply in Indonesia’s Lampung province, which is the country’s main coffee-growing region.

Vietnamese farmers in the Central Highlands sell their coffee for $1.95-1.99 per kg. Despite the higher prices, demand for Vietnamese and Indonesian Robusta beans has steadily increased.

Photo from Vietnam’s National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting

Author

  • Ziga Povse

    organisation:

    Žiga Povše is a freelance writer, translator and a full-time coffee lover. After after visiting his girlfriend's family farm in Cerrado Mineiro, they opened an online store to sell Brazilian specialty coffee, and he remains an avid reader and a prolific writer.

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