The Central Highlands provinces of Dak Lak, Lam Dong, Dak Nong and Gia Lai have planned to replant additional 19,224 hectares of coffee trees to enhance the quality and productivity of the sector during this year’s rainy season.

(Photo for illustration)

Since 2010, the region has replanted and transplanted coffee trees on over 61,000 hectares.

Apart from applying farming techniques guided by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, local farmers and businesses have been using high-yield seedlings on a larger scale.

The region is also calling for incentives for coffee tree replacement in terms of financial and technical assistance and infrastructure facility improvement to contribute to the sustainable development of the sector.

According to the Central Highlands Steering Committee, about 140,000 - 160,000 hectares of old coffee trees in the region need to be replaced with new seedlings in the next five years.

The Central Highlands is now home to more than 90 percent of Vietnam’s 635,000 hectares of coffee trees. The region generates 2.3-2.5 tonnes of beans every hectare and more than 1.5 million tonnes of beans every crop; productivity that is currently 2.5-3 times higher than the global average.

In 2014, Vietnam exported more than 1.7 million tonnes of coffee beans worth over 3.4 billion USD, ranking second in terms of national export values after rice.

Source: VNA