Unprecedented high main-crop coffee prices make Lam Dong farmers excited

(LĐ online) - In late November 2024, Lam Dong farmers began to enter the peak days of coffee harvest with excitement as coffee prices were at a record high.

Farmers in B' La commune, Bao Lam district have begun harvesting coffee for the 2024 crop. However, many households said that this year's yield is much lower than in 2023, due to coffee being infected with fungus, extreme weather... causing low fruit set rate.

Lam Dong is a province with a large coffee area of ​​176.8 thousand hectares, up 0.7% over the same period in 2023; output of 572.7 thousand tons, up 5% over the same period. Of which, the coffee area with 4C, UTZ, RainForest certifications... reached 88,000 hectares, up 2.32%; output reached 297,440 tons/year, up 8.1%.

People in Bao Lam district harvest Robusta coffee and usually dry the whole fruit, then grind the beans to sell instead of selling them fresh.

According to the people who specialize in growing coffee, in the past 2 years, coffee prices have increased sharply again, so farmers are very excited.

Notably, this is the first crop year that prices have reached 25,000 VND/kg of fresh coffee and 110,000 VND/kg of green coffee right from the beginning of the season.

Normally, the peak coffee season only lasts about 1 month, this year people harvest later than in 2023.

On November 26 alone, coffee prices ranged from VND26,000 - 27,500/kg of fresh coffee and VND118,000 - 120,000/kg of beans, depending on the type and location. This price increased by VND2,500 - 3,500/kg of fresh coffee and VND8,000 - 10,000/kg of beans compared to more than half a month ago and increased about 2.5 times compared to the same period in 2023.

Fresh coffee is at a high price, making farmers very excited. On average, each hectare yields about 5 - 6 tons of beans, with some gardens yielding 8 - 10 tons of beans per hectare.

People harvest Arabica coffee in Xuan Truong commune, Xuan Tho, Da Lat city. This place has the climate and soil conditions for the world's top quality Arabica coffee. Traders often buy coffee with a ripening rate of nearly 100% and people harvest Arabica coffee in many batches.

Coffee picked at even ripeness will give high quality.

The weather is starting to enter the dry season, which is also the time when Lam Dong farmers are busy harvesting the main crop of coffee.

Traders buy coffee from people along provincial road DT.722 running through the communes of Da Tong, Da M'Rong, Ro Men, Dam Rong district.

In 2023, Lam Dong exported over 70 thousand tons of green coffee, worth more than 150 million USD and is expected to continue to increase in 2024.

A couple of coffee pickers are hired to transport coffee to the main road at the end of the day in Dam Rong district.

On the hillsides of Lam Dong, people call each other to go to the fields to pick coffee. This is also the time when garden owners need to mobilize workers, many seasonal workers to ensure that the coffee is harvested on time.

The hands deftly pluck each bunch of ripe coffee. To harvest the coffee berries without dropping them, farmers use two tarps spread under the grafted roots together.

The entire Central Highlands region currently has more than 610,000 hectares of coffee, of which Lam Dong is the province that ranks first in the region as well as the country in terms of coffee area and output. The entire province has more than 176.8 thousand hectares with an output of 572.7 thousand tons, an increase of 5%.

Source: http://baolamdong.vn/kinh-te/202411/gia-ca-phe-chinh-vu-cao-chua-tung-thay-nong-dan-lamdongphan-khoi-76d2020/