Ensuring environmental protection in coffee processing.

The 2025-2026 coffee crop season is in full swing. To ensure environmental protection in coffee processing, the Son La Department of Agriculture and Environment has issued a document to departments, localities, units, and businesses regarding strengthening environmental and water resource protection in agricultural product processing activities in the 2025-2026 crop season in general and coffee processing in particular.

Báo Sơn La•05/11/2025

People in Ten Hịa village, Mường Chanh commune, are harvesting coffee.

The province currently has 24,300 hectares of coffee plantations, with an estimated yield of 37,700 tons of green coffee beans for the 2025-2026 crop year. There are 5 industrial-scale processing facilities in operation and 15 facilities that process fresh coffee cherries into green coffee beans to meet processing and export demands. These processing facilities meet approximately over 50% of the province's fresh coffee cherries production.

Annually, businesses and cooperatives involved in deep processing process produce 4,440 tons of green coffee beans, including: Minh Tien Group Joint Stock Company - MTG, Son La Branch (40 tons/year); Son La Coffee Processing Joint Stock Company (20 tons/year); Phuc Sinh Son La Joint Stock Company (over 3,490 tons/year); Detech Joint Stock Company (200 tons/year); Bich Thao Son La Coffee Cooperative (683 tons/year); and Ara-Tay Coffee Cooperative (5 tons/year).

Along with investing in and upgrading coffee processing lines, facilities are also focusing on investing in wastewater and waste treatment systems to ensure environmental standards and effectively utilizing by-products to produce organic fertilizers for crop development.

A view of the wastewater collection and treatment area of Phuc Sinh Son La Joint Stock Company.

At Phuc Sinh Son La Joint Stock Company, the coffee refining and deep processing plant has a capacity of 20,000 tons of fresh coffee cherries per year, producing approximately 4,400 tons of green coffee beans per year. The company has been granted environmental permits and permits for groundwater extraction and use by the Provincial People's Committee in accordance with regulations. The wastewater treatment system with a capacity of 200 ^m³ /day (transfer tank, preliminary settling tank, equalization tank, coagulation tank, flocculation tank, sedimentation tank, intermediate tank, etc.) is operating stably.

Mr. Vu Viet Thang, General Director of Phuc Sinh Son La Joint Stock Company, said: This year, the factory started processing coffee from the beginning of October 2025. Ensuring environmental protection in coffee processing is always a priority for the company, fulfilling its commitments and fully complying with all requirements regarding environmental protection and water resources.

Wastewater collection and treatment area of Phuc Sinh Son La Joint Stock Company.

Meanwhile, at Minh Tien Group Joint Stock Company, for the 2025-2026 crop year, the company is collaborating with approximately 3,800 households and cultivating over 4,000 hectares of coffee certified under 4C, RA, and CP standards. This year, the company expects to purchase and process 8,000-10,000 tons of fresh coffee cherries at its processing plant in Ban Sang.

Mr. Nguyen Vinh Duc, Deputy Director of the Son La Branch of Minh Tien Group Joint Stock Company, informed: The company conducts environmental monitoring in accordance with the approved surface water exploitation permit, wastewater discharge permit, and environmental impact assessment report; maintains the operation of the environmental surveillance camera system, sending data to the management agency, ensuring authenticity and transparency in environmental protection.

Wastewater collection and treatment system at the coffee processing plant of Son La Coffee Processing Joint Stock Company.

Son La Coffee Processing Joint Stock Company was established in May 2023. The factory has a designed capacity of 50,000 tons of fresh coffee cherries per year, equivalent to 10,000 tons of green coffee beans per year, with a total investment of 125 billion VND. Processing is expected to begin at the end of September 2025 and be completed in February 2026. Currently, the factory's environmental treatment system is comprehensively and systematically invested in, combining mechanical, biological, physico-chemical, advanced oxidation, and adsorption methods. The treated wastewater meets QCVN 01-1:2018/BYT – National technical standard for clean water for domestic use, and is 100% recycled and reused in the factory's fresh coffee processing line, ensuring no discharge into the surrounding environment.

The coffee processing plant of Son La Coffee Processing Joint Stock Company has built a closed-loop circular economy in production and processing, comprising three units: Son La Coffee Processing Plant, Northwest Agricultural Science Institute, and Song Lam Northwest Fertilizer Plant. According to this model, after processing, coffee husks are transferred to the organic fertilizer production plant of Song Lam Northwest Fertilizer Plant, where they are researched and perfected by the Northwest Agricultural Science Institute into specialized fertilizers for coffee plants, and then supplied back to coffee farmers.

Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, shared: Through surveys and assessments of the current state of environmental protection facilities, generally, the establishments maintain and operate their waste treatment systems in accordance with regulations and approved designs. This activity helps the Department to promptly grasp the situation, work alongside businesses to strictly implement regulations, contribute to protecting the production environment, and maintain the "green brand" for Son La coffee.

Linking production with environmental protection, the Department of Agriculture and Environment requested the Provincial Police to strengthen prevention, detection, and strict handling of environmental violations in coffee processing, especially in Chiềng Mai and Chiềng Mung communes and Chiềng Cơi and Chiềng Sinh wards. The People's Committees of the communes and wards should coordinate with the police to review and inspect all processing facilities; resolutely suspending those facilities that lack legal documentation or standard wastewater treatment facilities.

For facilities that meet operating requirements, the entire production process and the ability to collect, store, and treat waste must be regularly inspected and monitored. If the reservoir is no longer able to hold waste, the processing of fresh coffee must be stopped immediately. Discharging untreated wastewater into the environment is strictly prohibited. The Chairman of the People's Committee at the commune level will be held legally responsible and accountable to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee if environmental or water pollution occurs due to coffee processing activities.

Son La Water Supply Joint Stock Company is strengthening monitoring and assessment of the quality of water sources serving urban areas in Chieng Sinh ward and neighboring communes; and accelerating the progress of the Chieng Dong Water Plant to ensure stable and safe water supply for people in the affected areas.

Currently, the coffee harvest is in full swing. Processing plants need to fully comply with the contents of the approved environmental impact assessment report, water resource exploitation and use permit, and wastewater discharge permit; maintain and operate the wastewater treatment system effectively, ensuring that wastewater meets environmental standards. At the same time, they should increase the purchase and processing of fresh coffee at full capacity to consume the produce for the people, limiting small-scale processing that causes localized pollution.

Source: https://baosonla.vn/kinh-te-video/dam-bao-moi-truong-trong-che-bien-ca-phe-dWbnzpkvR.html