The concern of "green house is better than old field" of Dak Nong coffee enterprises

In about 3 months, farmers in the Central Highlands, including Dak Nong , will start harvesting coffee. With fluctuations in the price of this commodity, many businesses and cooperatives are worried about the lack of clean coffee supply.

Mr. Vo Dinh Danh, Director of Dak Mil Agricultural and Forestry Cooperative, Dak Mil district, said that from the 2023-2024 crop year, domestic and international coffee prices have increased dramatically, causing many difficulties in purchasing fresh coffee.

Specialty coffee roasting and processing businesses, clean coffee in Dak Nong worry about supply shortage

The Cooperative supplies raw materials and processes specialty coffee, so it needs a source of fresh coffee beans produced according to 4C and organic standards... In addition to meeting clean standards, the Cooperative also purchases coffee with a minimum ripeness rate of 80 - 100%.

However, in the last crop, many farmers picked coffee with only 60-70% ripe fruit because they were afraid of theft, so the cooperative had difficulty purchasing good raw materials.

Regarding the upcoming crop, Mr. Danh is concerned about a repeat of the green coffee picking situation. “We aim to buy about 100 tons of clean coffee beans to supply to partners and process ground coffee for the 2024-2025 crop. We are concerned that it will be difficult to buy enough of that amount.”

Farmers must pick and select to ensure 100% ripe fruit for processing specialty coffee.

Businesses also predict that, in addition to farmers' concerns about theft and "better safe at home than in the fields", the price difference between conventional coffee production and clean coffee is also a barrier to purchasing and selling.

Mr. Truong Cong Toan, Director of Toan Hang Private Enterprise, Dak R'lap District, said that the enterprise is cooperating with farmers to grow 10 hectares of clean coffee, achieving 20 tons of natural coffee beans/crop.

To produce natural coffee, farmers have to spend a lot of time taking care of the garden, and the production cost is high. Farmers have to choose ripe fruit to pick first, and wait until the green fruit is ripe to pick.

Or farmers have to wait until the garden reaches 100% ripe fruit before picking. Next, farmers have to dry in greenhouses for 15-20 days, 2-3 times longer than normal green coffee. This increases costs quite a bit.

"Previously, we sold natural ground coffee at around 120,000 VND/kg, which was acceptable to our partners, but now it has increased to 240,000 VND/kg, making it difficult to sell. In the coming crop, we are not only worried about purchasing but also about selling clean coffee because of the sudden price change," said Mr. Toan.

The consequences of farmers harvesting “greener at home than ripe in the fields” have drastically reduced the output of clean coffee and in the long term seriously affected the reputation of Vietnamese coffee. Faced with this reality, businesses have calculated solutions.

High costs and a lot of work are making farmers compare and see that the profits from producing clean coffee are not commensurate.

Also according to Mr. Vo Dinh Danh, Director of Dak Mil Agricultural and Forestry Cooperative, the Cooperative is encouraging members and farmers not to pick green coffee in the coming crop season.

Because picking green coffee will reduce productivity and coffee quality, affecting the long-term reputation of specialty coffee. “We are working with farmers and local authorities to protect coffee gardens so that the rate of ripe fruit meets good standards,” said Mr. Danh.

Toan Hang Private Enterprise has trained 1,000 farmers in Dak Nong on sustainable coffee cultivation and management techniques in accordance with RA (Rainforest Alliance) and 4C sustainability standards.

Natural coffee products of Toan Hang Private Enterprise, Dak R'lap district

Mr. Le Van Hoang, Director of Bazan Dak Nong Coffee Company Limited, Gia Nghia City said: “In previous years, we added 10,000 - 20,000 VND/kg of clean coffee for farmers to take care of their gardens. Currently, to proactively supply the ground coffee to serve the processing of 4-star OCOP coffee, we are cooperating with more than 100 farmers to grow 200 hectares of clean coffee.

The price of green coffee beans has fluctuated significantly recently, not only affecting the competitiveness of businesses in purchasing clean coffee but also directly affecting farmers' profits.

Therefore, the pressure to create clean coffee products is increasing, affecting the input materials of businesses.

Source: https://baodaknong.vn/moi-lo-xanh-nha-hon-gia-dong-cua-doanh-nghiep-ca-phe-dak-nong-230105.html