Who is the King of Vietnamese Coffee Exports?

According to statistics from the Vietnam Coffee – Cocoa Association (VICOFA), from October 2023 to September 2024 (coffee crop year 2023-2024), Vietnam exported approximately 1.46 million tons of coffee. While the export volume decreased, the turnover increased by 33.1% to reach US$5.43 billion. This is the highest turnover recorded in a coffee crop year to date.

The “king” of coffee exports in the 2023-2024 crop year was crowned to Vinh Hiep Co., Ltd. (Gia Lai) with a turnover of over US$520 million. In the previous 2022-2023 crop year, this enterprise ranked second with a turnover of only US$244 million.

In the list, Saigon Coffee Factory, a branch of Trung Nguyen Group Joint Stock Company, owned by Dang Le Nguyen Vu, ranked 16th with a turnover of more than US$114 million.

Vinh Hiep Co., Ltd. is an enterprise founded by Mr. Thai Nhu Hiep (born in 1963), Vice President of VICOFA, who is also the Chairman of the Members’ Council and Director of the company. Vinh Hiep has three main products: coffee beans, pepper, and coffee under the brand name L’amant Café. It is also a pioneer in the production of organic coffee.

In September 2024, the company increased its charter capital to 700 billion VND, of which Mr. Thai Nhu Hiep contributed 67.9% of the capital, and Mrs. Tran Thi Lan Anh contributed 3.21%.

According to Gia Lai Newspaper, Vinh Hiep Company is currently linked with farmers to produce 28,000 hectares of coffee, accounting for nearly 30% of the total coffee-growing area in the province.

Vinh Hiep also shared that it is one of the first enterprises in Vietnam to have a farm certified as organic by the USDA of the United States Department of Agriculture, EU Organic, JAS, Korea Organic, and other international certifications such as Fair Trade, Rain Forest, and 4C.

Vinh Hiep Company was established in 1991 in District 6, Ho Chi Minh City. The company started with an initial capital of 500 million VND and six workers in a 500-square-meter warehouse. Initially, the enterprise mainly processed and supplied agricultural products such as peanuts, black sesame, pepper, turmeric, white beans, dried chili, and dried ginger to companies exporting to the Russian and Algerian markets.

In 1999, Vinh Hiep established its official office in Pleiku City, Gia Lai Province. At the same time, it expanded its production scale, developed factory systems, and focused on processing coffee and pepper for export partners.

In 2004, the company completed its transformation into Vinh Hiep Co., Ltd. and started direct exports to foreign markets.

Currently, Vinh Hiep exports coffee to 60 countries, bringing over 80,000 tons of Vietnamese coffee to all five continents annually.

In 2017, the company launched its coffee brand, L’amant Café. Today, the brand’s products have been exported to more than 20 countries and territories, including demanding markets such as Europe, the US, Japan, and South Korea.

Additionally, after two years of negotiations, on March 19, 2024, Vinh Hiep successfully exported the first batch of organic green coffee beans to Japan.

Presently, Vinh Hiep owns a high-quality coffee bean processing factory in Tra Da Industrial Park, covering an area of nearly 70,000 square meters with a capacity of 100,000 tons of coffee per year. It also has a closed-loop coffee powder processing factory at 404 Le Duan, Thang Loi Ward, Pleiku City, with an area of 5,000 square meters and a capacity of 2,000 tons per year.

In Binh Duong Province, the company has a coffee bean processing factory in Nam Tan Uyen Industrial Park, with a total area of 14,000 square meters and a capacity of 50,000 tons of coffee per year.