Over 155 years ago, the French introduced the Arabica coffee seeds trials in Vietnam (1858). At moment, the coffee tree has been cultivated in so many places in our country. The coffee-growing regions were formed and spread mostly in the Central Highland with a total planted area is 550,000 ha. Some of them  has become the capital of Vietnamese coffee, such as: Buon Ma Thuot city, Dak Lak province, Bao Loc city, Lam Dong province and so on, which is known at home and abroad.

       The most important thing here is that there is such a large coffee growing area but Robusta coffee trees are planted rather than Arabica, although Arabica trees got much higher economic and brand value. The reasons why this situation exists are because:

-  First, the coffee-growing regions of our country is usually from 600-1000m height above sea level, it is not suitable for Arabica. Thus, the area for Arabica coffee in Vietnam is modest, only about 27,500 ha, equivalent to 5% of the total cultivated area.

-  Second, this type of tree is acquired many harmful insects, they bring many difficulties for farmers in the cultivation process.

-  In addition, the complex processing of Arabica coffee also makes it less widely planted.

       However, we understand the economic value and importance of Arabica coffee in the brand development and affirming the Vietnamese coffee industry. At the same time, the difficulties in the process of cultivation, harvesting and processing of Arabica coffee has become easier because of the assistance of machinery, equipments and more modern technology. In recent years, along with the policies of the country, farmers and businesses have boldly changed from Robusta to Arabica. This conversion is done in a scientific and long-term plans and it should be able to say that Arabica coffee brand of Vietnam in the future is extremely great.




Sources
• Data on coffee exports and imports of the General Statistics Office of Vietnam
http://www.gso.gov.vn/default.aspx?tabid=403&idmid=2&ItemID=12640
• The coffee-growing region and cultivated - Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency
http://www.vietrade.gov.vn/ca-phe/2616-thi-truong-ca-phe-viet-nam-mua-vu-20112012.html