Laos hastens arabica coffee planting

Laos has been growing high quality arabica coffee at a fast pace as it strives to make up for the declining production of robusta due to poor planting, said an executive from a major Vietnam coffee company. Laos has produced around 30,000 tonnes of coffee in the past year, comprising 15,000-17,000 tonnes of robusta and 10,000-15,000 tonnes of arabica, he said. These were up from around 17,000 tonnes a year between 2001 and 2003.
"The development potential in Laos is that it can stand next to Vietnam," Chief Executive Nguyen Van An of Thai Hoa Group told Reuters in an interview. Thai Hoa is Vietnam's largest arabica exporter and An said it is the second-largest coffee firm operating in Laos, accounting for about a quarter of the market share in terms of its buying volume in the neighbouring country.