Coffee crop year 2023-2024: Joy of good harvest and good price

Entering the 2023-2024 crop year, Binh Phuoc farmers are very excited because the coffee crop is good, and the purchase price on the market is at a record high, fluctuating around 100-110 thousand VND/kg of beans. The high price right from the beginning of the season is a good sign for coffee growers. Thereby, helping farmers increase their income, improve their lives and have conditions to reinvest in production, stabilizing the coffee growing area.

Farmers are excited

At this time, farmers are starting to harvest the 2023-2024 coffee crop. Currently, the price of fresh coffee is high, ranging from 21-22 thousand VND/kg, the price of coffee beans is from 100-110 thousand VND/kg, double the same period in 2023, so farmers are very excited.

Mr. Nguyen Dang Son in Hamlet 1, Minh Hung Commune, Bu Dang District is extremely excited because in 35 years of growing coffee, coffee prices have never been as high as this year. Mr. Son said that his family grows 6 hectares of coffee in a cashew garden, and on average harvests more than 60 tons of fresh coffee each year. If coffee prices remain at the current level, his family is expected to earn more than 1.3 billion VND this coffee season. "The high coffee prices right from the beginning of the season are a good sign for coffee growers. Thereby, helping farmers increase their income, improve their lives and have the conditions to reinvest in production and stabilize the coffee growing area," Mr. Son shared.

Mr. Nguyen Dang Son in village 1, Minh Hung commune said that coffee prices have reached a new peak, the highest in many years.

Mr. Bui Xuan Dinh in village 7, Minh Hung commune, is also harvesting 1 hectare of coffee that has just started to ripen with his relatives. He said that coffee prices have never been as high as this year. Therefore, most coffee farmers are present in the garden early to harvest and sell to the market. Mr. Dinh estimates that his family will harvest 11 tons of fresh coffee this season. With the current purchase price, he estimates a profit of 240 million VND. "In 2023, coffee prices were relatively high, we were also happy. This year, prices have skyrocketed, coffee growers are very excited. If we can keep this price for a few years, coffee growers will be better off," said Mr. Dinh.

Mr. Bui Xuan Dinh's coffee garden in village 7, Minh Hung commune has begun to ripen.

Although it is not yet the peak coffee harvest season, the joy of a good harvest is clearly visible on the face of Mr. Chu Van Dung in Bom Bo commune, Bu Dang district. Mr. Dung excitedly said that his family has 6 hectares of coffee intercropped with cashew trees, each year harvesting more than 12 tons of coffee beans. For the past 2 years, coffee prices have continuously increased, each hectare he earns 220 million VND, not including the harvest from cashew trees. On average, the investment for 1 hectare of coffee intercropped with cashew trees is about 50 million VND. Therefore, if the selling price remains at more than 100,000 VND/kg, then from coffee alone, the family will earn about 200 million VND/ha. "In the past 2 years, the price of coffee has increased again, making farmers very happy. Hopefully, the price will continue to remain stable until the end of the season so that coffee growers can have more income," said Mr. Dung.

Coffee farmers must ensure that over 95% of the fruit is ripe.

Hope for a good harvest

Binh Phuoc is a province with a relatively large coffee area, with more than 14,000 hectares, an average yield of more than 2.2 tons/ha, and an output of about 29,000 tons. Coffee is grown in all localities in the province, but the most grown is in Bu Dang district. After many years of low prices, in the past 2 years, coffee prices have increased again, making farmers very excited.

However, according to some coffee growers, the harvesting labor has increased, and some places have even had coffee stolen. Therefore, people need to be more vigilant to protect their gardens and harvest quickly. At the same time, people need to harvest coffee according to technical standards and quality, without soaking in water or mixing in impurities. The harvested product must be more than 95% ripe and the impurity rate must not exceed 0.5%; the final harvest must be more than 85% ripe, with no more than 1% impurities and must not account for more than 10% of the total crop output.

Not only are coffee growers busy preparing for harvest, businesses, coffee purchasing and processing agents are also actively preparing capital, vehicles, machinery, and warehouses to be ready for the new business season. Some coffee purchasing agents in Bu Dang district said that in recent days, coffee prices have been high, so many farmers have taken advantage of selling, and the agents have also fixed prices to gain more profit.

The increase in coffee prices has also helped farmers benefit and feel more secure in taking better care of their gardens. However, localities also need to strengthen communication so that people do not increase acreage massively but focus on quality, aiming for sustainable farming.

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