The United States Department of Agriculture has released its half-yearly report on Vietnam’s coffee industry.
Of interest is a section on stocks toward the end that details how farmers store coffee at warehouses and sell it to the warehouse owners when they need cash. However, it notes that warehouse owners often sell coffee without the farmer’s consent in the hopes prices will drop by the time they do decide to sell with the warehouse owner pocketing the difference. The report notes that over the last year as prices spiked some warehouses owners sold too early and subsequently had to take a loss or even went bankrupt.
Also of note, is that 85 percent of Vietnam’s coffee exports are low-value green beans as opposed to higher value processed coffee products.
See also: Coffee in Vietnam: Industry Overview