Coffee prices have kept rising since the beginning of May as the product is in short supply in the domestic market, according to the Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Moreover, a recent severe water shortage has also greatly affected the coffee output of the Central Highlands region which has the largest coffee growing acreage in the country. 

The General Department of Customs reported that Vietnam exported 165,800 tonnes of coffee at a value of US$279.83 million during April, a fall of 2.5% in volume and a drop of 5.1% in value.

Indeed, the opening four months of the year saw the nation ship 682,800 tonnes of coffee abroad with a total value of US$1.15 billion, an increase of 8.1% in volume and up 5.3% in value in comparison to the same period from last year.

Moreover, April saw the average export price of coffee drop by 2.7% to US$1,688 per tonne, causing the average export price over the course of the four-month period to suffer an annual decline of 2.6% to US$1,682 per tonne.

Throughout the four-month period, the average export price of coffee to several foreign markets, including Myanmar, Chile, China, South Africa, and New Zealand enjoyed an upward trend. In contrast, the average export price of coffee to other markets such as Singapore, Cambodia, Israel, and the Philippines suffered declines.

Coffee exports during April to several major markets such as Germany, the United States, Spain, Belgium, Russia, Japan, and the Republic of Korea increased from the figures seen during April last year, while exports to Italy, the Philippines, and Algeria all declined.

Most notably, coffee exports to the German market during the four-month period enjoyed a vast increase of 35.4% to US$176 million, while coffee exports to the US market fell by 14.4% to US$102 million.