Vietnam opens a coffee festival, calls for investment #AsiaNewsNetwork

Vietnam opens a coffee festival, calls for investment #AsiaNewsNetwork
Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hoà Bình speaks at the 2019 Đắk Lắk investment promotion conference held on March 10 in the province. Photo./Viet Nam News
Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hoà Bình speaks at the 2019 Đắk Lắk investment promotion conference held on March 10 in the province. Photo./Viet Nam News
Published 10 March 2019

Dak Lak: Viet Nam News #AsiaNewNetwork - Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hoà Bình has urged the Central Highlands region to build a Vietnamese coffee brand capable of competing with rivals at home and abroad.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the seventh Buôn Ma Thuột Coffee Festival on Saturday night, Bình said the region should aim to become a world famous coffee destination.

The area is known for its basaltic land with huge rubber and coffee plantations, he noted. The Central Highlands region has great advantages and potential for coffee plantations and exports.”

Đắk Lắk Province’s coffee products, with the geographical indication “Buôn Ma Thuột Coffee”, are sold in some 65 countries and territories worldwide, making the largest contribution to Việt Nam’s coffee exports.

Bình said that Đắk Lắk and other provinces with coffee growing areas should ensure sustainable production by promoting biodiversity, organic agriculture and cultural values.

A sustainable strategy to preserve the identity of local ethnic groups, especially the gong culture, was also needed, he said.

“The Buôn Ma Thuột coffee festival plays a major role in promoting the branding of Buôn Ma Thuột and Việt Nam’s coffee to the international market,” he added.

Việt Nam’s coffee export turnover reached nearly 1.9 million tonnes, earning $3.5 billion last year.

Bình said it was vital to restructure the coffee sector, focusing on large-scale and concentrated production, as well as private investment.

Đắk Lắk should also promote the use of advanced technology to increase productivity and quality, reduce costs, and adapt to climate change.

“Việt Nam’s specialty coffee should be encouraged to develop high-quality coffee with special flavours, meeting international standards with higher coffee value as well as profits for farmers.”

Miss Universe Việt Nam 2017 H’Hen Niê, the media ambassador for the festival, will participate in major programmes at the week-long festival.

The event includes an exhibition on global coffee history, a street festival, a Vietnamese specialty coffee quality competition, free coffee tasting, a Buôn Đôn elephant festival, and an international paragliding contest.

Themed “Quintessence of the Great Forest”, the biennial festival honours domestic coffee growers, processors and traders, and encourages the community to develop a coffee culture.

The event commemorates the 44th anniversary of the Buôn Ma Thuột Victory of March 10, 1975.

Đắk Lắk Province boasts the country’s largest coffee-growing area, with a total area of about 204,000 hectares, accounting for 36 per cent of the country’s total output.

Coffee was first cultivated in Việt Nam in 1857. The country now exports 1.8 million tonnes of coffee beans, earning $3.2 billion per year. The country is the world’s second largest coffee exporter, after Brazil.

$3b to be invested in Đắk Lắk 

http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/506802/central-highlands-province-opens-co...