Bitter truth for coffee lovers as Vietnam’s crop set to fall

HANOI: The world may get even less coffee from Vietnam, the world’s biggest grower of the robusta variety used in instant drinks and espressos, as a smaller crop and growing local demand squeeze supplies.

The country is likely to produce 1.6 million to 1.7 million tonnes of beans from the current harvest, down from 1.78 million tonnes a year earlier, Do Ha Nam, deputy chairman of the Vietnam Coffee Cocoa Association, said at a conference in Ho Chi Minh City. Stockpiles from the last crop were almost depleted, he said.