Positioning Gia Lai coffee brand through deep processing

(GLO)- Gia Lai province has a large coffee growing area, but most of the export output is in the form of raw beans, with low added value. Therefore, the province's enterprises are gradually investing and promoting the processing of roasted, instant and specialty coffee to bring the Gia Lai coffee brand further.

Gia Lai has about 106,400 hectares of coffee, concentrated in the western communes of the province, with a coffee bean output of about 312 thousand tons/year. Each year, Gia Lai exports an average of 240 thousand tons of green coffee beans, accounting for nearly 77% of output; the remaining (23%) is processed locally, with nearly 100 production and processing facilities, with a total capacity of about 12,000 tons/year.

Gia Lai has about 106,400 hectares of coffee, which is a local source of raw materials for deep processing. Photo: Vu Thao

Developing specialty coffee instead of just exporting raw coffee

With the current price of green coffee beans at around 95,000 VND/kg, when processed further such as roasting, grinding, instant, specialty..., the product value can increase by 1.5-2 times, or even higher if exported directly to demanding markets such as Europe, Japan... In addition, further processing not only helps increase product value but also retains most of the profits for local enterprises instead of depending on floor prices and intermediate purchasing enterprises.

Realizing the great demand for finished coffee, many enterprises in Gia Lai have begun to shift their investment to deep processing. Vinh Hiep Company Limited (An Phu Ward) is one of the pioneering enterprises with instant coffee and roasted coffee products exported to the European market.

Mr. Thai Nhu Hiep - Director of the Company, Vice President of the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association - said: In the first 6 months of 2025, Vinh Hiep exported about 550 million USD, an increase of 48% over the same period last year. It is expected that by the end of this year, the export turnover will reach about 750-800 million USD. This result is mainly due to high coffee prices, especially the large contribution from the group of deeply processed products under the brand name L'amant Cafe, which has brought great export value to Vinh Hiep.

According to Mr. Hiep, coffee products entering the Japanese and European markets are not only based on quality but also on responsibility, transparency and trust. Therefore, businesses must proactively cooperate with cooperatives and raw material areas to stabilize quality, trace origin, and invest in upgrading processing plants according to export standards for each market.

In addition to exporting green beans, Vinh Hiep is aiming to expand the export market for processed coffee to Asian and European markets. Photo: Vu Thao

Currently, many small and medium enterprises such as Tam Ba Coffee, Thuy Dung Coffee, BaKa Coffee... are focusing on this direction, boldly investing in deep processing factories, focusing on specialty coffee lines, roasted and ground coffee, instant coffee, paper filter coffee, filter bag coffee...

Sharing about the orientation of exporting processed coffee, Mr. Luu Vinh Quang, Deputy Director of Tam Ba Production and Service Company Limited (Dien Hong Ward), said: “Although Vietnam is the second largest coffee exporter in the world , the world only knows that Vietnam produces raw coffee. Therefore, only deep processing can increase the value of coffee beans. From the 200-hectare organic raw material source, the Company processes finished coffee products, and roasted and ground coffee has been exported to the US. Going into deep processing is an inevitable trend, helping to increase value, reduce price risks when the green coffee market fluctuates, and at the same time contribute to building the Gia Lai coffee brand in the international market”.

Adding value from deep processing

In the first 6 months of 2025, the whole province exported 136,200 tons of coffee, reaching a turnover of 758 million USD. Of which, the output of deeply processed coffee began to increase, showing the shift of enterprises.

The potential for deep processing of Gia Lai coffee is huge, based on available raw material areas, but actual development is not commensurate.

Gia Lai has many famous coffee brands on the market. Photo: Vu Thao

The first reason is that the investment resources and technology of enterprises are still limited. The system of production lines for instant coffee and roasted coffee that meet international standards requires large investment capital, while most enterprises are small and medium-sized, and have difficulty accessing preferential capital sources. In addition, the human resources with high technical qualifications in roasting and processing coffee products are still lacking, making it difficult for enterprises to invest in developing the deep processing segment.

To support the development of the processed coffee industry, the province has recently had many support policies such as focusing on reviewing and re-planning raw material areas associated with factories; supporting enterprises to access preferential loans and industrial promotion program capital to invest in modern machinery and equipment; promoting trade promotion, connecting processing enterprises with domestic distribution systems and exports, especially key markets such as Europe, the US, Japan, China, etc.

Mr. Phan Ba Kien - Director of BaKa Company Limited (Ia Hrung Commune) shared: To create many high-quality coffee products with added value, investing in equipment and technology is extremely important. To have high-quality processed coffee products, producers must go from selecting varieties, caring for and harvesting to ensure a high rate of ripe coffee, to preliminary processing, preservation and processing technology into finished products. From the success of existing product lines such as roasted coffee beans, ground coffee, convenient filter coffee, in the past 2 years the Company has continued to invest in a closed production line to produce instant coffee products.

According to Mr. Doan Ngoc Co - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, increasing the value of processed coffee is no longer an option but has become an inevitable trend in the Vietnamese coffee value chain. The fact that producers focus on investing in machinery to process products such as roasted coffee, instant coffee, and specialty coffee has helped increase the value 1.5-2 times compared to selling raw materials. This not only increases the income of growers, helps businesses expand profit margins, but also creates conditions for Gia Lai coffee to reach demanding markets such as Europe, the US, Japan, and Korea, affirming the position of Gia Lai coffee in the world market.

Source: https://baogialai.com.vn/dinh-vi-thuong-hieu-ca-phe-gia-lai-bang-che-bien-sau-post560390.html