Lam Dong’s Arabica coffee yield down
By Cao Nguyen - The Saigon Times Daily
HCMC – The Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, which produces the best Arabica coffee beans in the country, is facing a big crop loss with output dipping by half versus the last crop.
Experts consider Lam Dong’s districts such as Xuan Truong, Xuan Tho and Tram Hanh the country’s high-grade Arabica coffee cultivation areas. The price of beans grown in Lam Dong is often double that of the same beans grown elsewhere.
However, heavy rains in the coffee region in late March which lasted for days have destroyed a large number of coffee blossoms.
Last year we harvested more than 23,000 tons of Arabica beans. But the yield is projected to drop by half to around 10,000 tons this year, said Le Thin, chairman of Xuan Truong District’s Farmers Association.
“This crop, I will lose 70% of total yield compared to the preceding year as heavy rains have affected the blossoming of the coffee plants,” said Vo Van Thanh, a coffee grower in Xuan Truong.
Most Arabica coffee plants older than five years have blossoms when it rains heavily. The blossoming of coffee plants younger than five years is not affected by rains but they account for a fraction of the total coffee cultivation area in the province.