In a bid to increase the value of its coffee sector, Vietnam has set the objective to process more than 25% of its coffee beans by 2020, according to the Processing and Market Development Authority (AgroTrade) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). The ministry has encouraged localities, particularly in the Central Highlands, southeastern and Mekong Delta regions, to develop technologies to process some 55,000 tonnes of instant coffee annually. It pledged to enable businesses at home and abroad to invest in producing instant coffee in the Central Highlands, south-eastern, south central coastal and northern regions to increase the output to 200,000 tonnes per year, focusing on the Central Highlands (31,520 tonnes per year) and south-eastern region (14,480 tonnes per year). Vietnam also hopes to increase the output of roasted coffee from 26,000 tonnes at present to 50,000 tonnes by 2020, to be sold mainly in the domestic market. The ministry said it would support the implementation of coffee processing investment via restructuring products to increase added value. The State will also help export firms train staff with qualifications and English proficiency, promote trade and participate in international coffee workshops and fairs as well as call for investment in processing industry, set joint ventures and get involved in foreign supply chains. Processing coffee is a stage that creates the highest added value from 70 to 100 million VND per tonne of coffee beans. However, processed coffee makes up less than 10 percent of total coffee production nationwide. The country only has eight instant coffee processing plants and 11 mixed instant coffee ones with respective capacity of 36,480 tonnes and 139,850 tonnes per year. On the other side, Vietnam has hundreds of small-scale roasted coffee processing facilities. Source: comunicaffe.com/vietnam-aims-to-process-more-than-25-of-its-coffee-beans-by-2020/