According to data from the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association (VICOFA), in May, businesses exported 71,569 tons of Robusta green coffee, with a unit price of 3,920 USD/ton and 6,831 tons of Arabica coffee, with a unit price of 3,920 USD/ton. 3,888 USD/ton,
Thus, the export price of Arabica coffee is up to 32 USD/ton lower than Robusta. Mr. Phan Minh Thong, General Director of Phuc Sinh Joint Stock Company (top 7 green coffee exporter for the 2022-2023 crop year), said that this is unprecedented in the more than 50-year history of the world coffee industry. .
“Actually, the price of Robusta coffee has exceeded that of Arabica coffee for a while but is only now being recorded in statistical reports because in recent times businesses have assigned old contracts at old prices” – Mr. Thong explained.
For example, in the coffee crop year (from October of the previous year to September of the following year) 2021-2022, the average export price of Robusta coffee is 1,980 USD/ton, Arabica coffee is 4,333 USD/ton (nearly more than 2.2 times). By the 2022-2023 crop year, this gap gradually narrows, when Arabica drops to 4,071 USD/ton, while Robusta price increases to 2,180 USD/ton.
According to VICOFA, Vietnam mainly produces Robusta coffee (accounting for more than 94% of area and output) while Arabica coffee (mainly Catimo variety) accounts for a low proportion.
This means that the Vietnamese coffee industry has benefited from this strange development in the prices of the two main types of coffee in the world.
Arabica and Robusta coffees represent each region of Vietnam
According to Mr. Thong’s updated information, the price of Robusta coffee has now reached 5,200 – 5,500 USD/ton while Arabica has just reached 4,000 – 5,200 USD/ton (depending on type).
The reason for this change is that in the past, roasters and processors gradually changed their formulas to use more Robusta coffee ingredients because of lower prices and higher profits. When Robusta is used a lot but the supply is short, the price increases while the roasting and processing formula cannot be changed one way.
“With current market prices, roasters will certainly have to find a way to return to the old formula, but for how long, I myself cannot answer” – Mr. Thong Than won.
From the grower’s perspective, Mr. Nguyen Huu Long, Director of Vietnam Coffee Academy Joint Stock Company VCA (Gia Lai province), said that in the past, the price of Arabica coffee was often more than 2 times higher than Robusta coffee. Regarding cultivation, Arabica coffee is only suitable for some places with suitable altitudes and soils. Productivity is low, so the price is higher than Robusta coffee.
According to some experts, in the past Arabica coffee was considered more premium than Robusta coffee, the price difference also reflects this problem. However, after a while Robusta was included in the recipe for coffee products and became popular in the market, showing that this view may change.
A famous coffee roaster in Vietnam once likened Arabica and Robusta coffee to chickens and ducks. Each type has a different taste, so it would be difficult to compare the deliciousness with each other.
