Vietnam coffee short of world standards, admits industry

Though Vietnam is the second largest coffee exporter globally, the quality of its produce is still low since it has yet to adopt global quality criteria, the industry association has admitted.

Doan Trieu Nhan, deputy head of the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association, told the Coffee Quality and Market Outlook in 2007 conference in Hanoi Thursday that the country was using old criteria and there were no quality tests at ports before customs clearance.

Vietnam had not adopted the quality regulations set by the International Coffee Organization (ICO) that 25 other exporters had.

ICO officials said last year European ports had detained 1.5 million coffee bags from 17 nations and territories of which over 70% had been from Vietnam.

In 2005-2006 about 73 percent of the world coffee had met ICO standards but Vietnamese coffee had belonged in the remaining 27 percent.

Vietnam’s robusta coffee is recognized around the world for its quality. But by the time shipments arrive in an import country, their quality deteriorates because of poor processing and preservation technologies.

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