For many years the leading producer of coffee in the world was Brazil with no close competitor for total volume of production. That changed over the last generation as Vietnam increased its coffee production. Today Vietnam is a close second to Brazil in total coffee grown and occasionally vies for first place. How did Vietnam become a coffee giant?
Vietnam as a Coffee Producer
In the aftermath of the Vietnam war the united nation of Vietnam adhered to the communist model for their managed economy. They then produced less than one percent of the world’s coffee. As the Soviet Union was on verge of collapse the leaders of Vietnam decided to stop using the collectivization model of the USSR. In 1986 they privatized their agriculture and encouraged coffee production. Subsequently coffee farmers freed of antiquated Soviet practices increased coffee production on the average of twenty to thirty percent per year.
The World Bank and Vietnam Coffee
At the same time that Vietnam chose to throw of collective farming the World Bank provided loans and encouraged private coffee and rice farming in Vietnam. The Vietnam central highlands have always been an ideal location for growing coffee. While the Vietnamese coffee farmers did the work the World Bank and Vietnamese government provided the playing field and capital to eventually make Vietnam a coffee powerhouse albeit as a producer of Robusta instead of Arabica coffee.
Vietnam as a Coffee Growing Country
The central highlands of Vietnam have a mild climate with both rainy and dry seasons. Similar to mountainous regions in Ethiopia and Colombia coffee is grow on small farms typically family owned benefitting from sufficient rain, fertile soil and a developing coffee culture. Robusta is the main coffee crop in Vietnam as this region of the world near where coffee leaf rust developed in the middle of the 19th century causing countries like Sri Lanka (Ceylon) to switch from growing coffee to growing tea or finding leaf rust resistant coffee to grow, like Robusta. The country produces about 30 million bags of coffee each year and is the largest supplier to countries like the United Kingdom. Like in Colombia the soil in the central highlands is volcanic providing natural fertilizer for coffee crops.
Vietnamese Robusta Coffee for the Caffeine
Because Robusta has so much more caffeine than Arabica it is a good source of caffeine for soft drinks. A substantial proportion of coffee grown in Vietnam does not find its way into anyone’s coffee cup but rather is processed to get caffeine for other beverages. Thus you may be, in a manner of speaking, drinking Vietnamese Robusta coffee when you have an “energy” or “soft” drink! Or if you like a good Italian espresso you may well have Robusta coffee from Vietnam as part of your drink.
The Rise of Vietnam as an Economy
Not only did Vietnam throw off the old Soviet methods of economic management they copied China’s “managed capitalism” as well. Some of this has spilled over into the coffee sector where most coffee holdings are small and family owned but where there are a few multimillionaires. In addition to profiting from copying Chinese methods for economic growth Vietnam has become an increasingly important supplier of coffee to Mainland China which is a huge market!