HANOI, July 19 (Xinhua) -- The coffee price in Vietnam's Central Highlands Dak Lak province at one time reached 38.9 million Vietnamese dong (1,729 U.S. dollars) per ton during the week, the highest since June 29, 2015, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) on Tuesday.
Compared to the previous week, the prices of green Robusta coffee beans in Vietnam's Central Highlands provinces have risen to 37.6-38.3 million Vietnamese dong (1,671-1,702 U.S. dollars) per ton, up 600,000 Vietnamese dong (26.7 U.S. dollars) each ton, Vietnam's state-run news agency VNA quoted the MARD as saying.
Meanwhile, the freight on board (FOB) price of Robusta coffee gained 24 U.S. dollars per ton to reach 1,756 U.S. dollars per ton.
The rising trend was attributed to the global price hike in the previous week due to concerns over the prolonged drought's impact on coffee harvest in Vietnam and India, two among the world's top Robusta coffee producers.
According to the ministry, coffee exports of Vietnam, the world's largest Robusta coffee exporter, reached an estimated 1.32 million tons in the first nine months of the 2015-2016 crop year, up 32 percent compared to a year earlier.
Meanwhile, in the first half of 2016, the country earned 1.71 billion U.S. dollars from exporting 985,000 tons of coffee, up 17.6 percent in value and 39.8 percent in volume year-on-year.
During five-month period, Germany and the United States continued to be top consumers of Vietnamese coffee, with respective market shares of 15.85 percent and 12.89 percent.
Vietnam witnessed strong growth in coffee exports to China (up 54.63 percent year-on-year), Russia (48.73 percent), the U.S. (30.59 percent) and Germany (17.59 percent), said the ministry.
