Vietnamese Coffee Gains 'Green Passport' Through Quality Upgrades for Global Markets

Lam Dong province, a leading coffee-producing region in Vietnam, is shifting its focus from mere scale to enhancing the quality of its primary export commodity, Robusta coffee. This strategic pivot aims to increase value and ensure sustainable development. In 2025, the "Lam Dong" geographical indication will be officially registered by the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam for both Robusta and Arabica coffee varieties from the province. This registration is viewed as a "green passport," offering legal protection and serving as a crucial tool to elevate product value and boost international competitiveness, thereby paving the way for the province's coffee industry to reach further and achieve sustainable growth. Farms like Binh Dong Farm are at the forefront of this quality-driven transformation, emphasizing improvements from the cultivation stage. This 110-hectare farm employs a strictly controlled production process, utilizing modern techniques. Coffee cherry husks are composted and returned to the soil, while drones are used for nutrient application, and sensors monitor environmental conditions. Integrated pest management and precise fertilization practices are implemented. This rigorous approach has increased the average yield of dried beans from approximately 3 tons per hectare to 5 tons per hectare, consistently meeting market demands. Vũ Đình Cường, Deputy Director of the Lam Dong Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, commends these practices as aligning with the province's encouraged direction for sustainable production. Producers like Ms. Đoàn Thị Cậy in Bao Loc have joined programs meeting European export standards for coffee, gaining access to new cultivation techniques and stringent quality requirements, which have directly translated into enhanced product value. Dr. Phạm S, an agronomist, stresses that for Vietnamese Robusta coffee to advance further in global markets, a transition from experience-based farming to data-driven management, powered by technology, is imperative. Lam Dong boasts over 329,900 hectares of coffee cultivation, with this season's output projected to exceed 1 million tons. Coffee exports from the province are anticipated to reach $630 million in 2025, with Robusta coffee constituting the majority of this volume. However, Dr. S points out that this scale necessitates changes in cultivation methods. Standards related to green production, traceability, social responsibility, and data transparency are increasingly becoming prerequisites for accessing high-value markets. New regulations from the European Union, such as the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), are significantly impacting the coffee supply chain. Lam Dong's coffee must now align with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria to compete in the international arena. Thái Như Hiệp, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association, notes that while Vietnam, particularly the Central Highlands, possesses abundant high-quality coffee beans, the challenge lies in organizing these qualitative differences into distinct commercial value streams. He emphasizes the need for quality-based purchasing, organizing raw material regions according to intended use, and establishing a grading system for green beans with measurable indicators. Lam Dong has solidified its position in terms of raw material volume and production output. However, to translate this advantage into tangible value, coffee beans require clear classification, production according to specific standards, and crucially, producers must benefit from the added value they create. Dr. Phạm S envisions technology enabling farmers to shift from primarily experience-based production to data-driven management. Systems such as drip irrigation combined with IoT sensors for monitoring moisture and weather, blockchain for creating an "electronic diary" of the production process, and AI for analyzing data to predict pests, diseases, and optimize irrigation and fertilization are seen as key enablers.