Located in the front street or alleyways, Hoà Thắng Ward (Buôn Ma Thuột City, Đắk Lắk), is known as the highland region’s seedling market. Despite entering the peak dry season, gardening and seedling selling businesses remain busy, especially with coffee seedlings.
Mr. Nguyễn Bá Hùng – the representative of a seedling providing centre in Hoà Thắng Ward – stated that even though it is not yet the seedling season, the unprecedented high price of coffee (over 130,000 VND/kg) has led to a rise in the demand for coffee trees. Dealers have thus flocked to Hoà Thắng Ward to buy seedling for storage. The dealers come from various districts in Đắk Lắk Province and other highland provinces such as Lâm Đồng, Đắk Nông, etc. The biggest purchasers buy up to 3,000 – 4,000 coffee seedlings.
Coffee seedlings are being purchased in large quantities.
Mr. Hùng added that the demand for coffee seedlings has risen significantly in the past 2 years. Whereas 4-5 years ago, the number of buyers was minimal because of the low price of coffee. There were years when Mr. Hùng had to discard unsold seedlings.
The rapid increase in demand for coffee seedlings has led to a surge in prices, almost doubling the previous rate. The owner of a local seedling-selling business in Hoà Thắng Ward disclosed that each seedling now costs 4,000 VND (previously 2,000 VND), while grafted ones range from 12,000 – 16,000 VND, depending on the size of the tree (as compared to 8,000 – 10,000 VND last year).
The rise in green coffee prices has led to an increase in seedling prices.
In spite of the price doubling, the demand for seedlings remains high, with some dealers facing stock shortages due to delayed production.
Ms. Nguyễn Thị Phương, the owner of a seedling business in Ea Pốk Town, Cư M’gar District (Đắk Lắk), said that in previous years, low coffee prices resulted in low demands for seedlings. Consequently, many seedling providers had to dispose of unsold products, incurring financial losses.
Farmers have resumed planting coffee due to the commodity’s price revival.
According to Ms. Phương, the price of coffee has soared in the past two years, leading to a surge in demand for seedlings. However, the number of seedling providers has remained stagnant or unable to meet the demand. Occasionally, coffee seedlings with only two to three leaves have been pre-ordered by buyers, resulting in a market shortage. To meet the demand for coffee seedlings in the upcoming season, Ms. Phương’s facility has prepared 3,000 coffee grafts and 2,000 seedlings.
Dr. Phan Việt Hà – Deputy Director of the Western Highlands Agriculture and Forestry Science and Technology Institute (WASI) – acknowledged the current shortage of coffee seedlings due to a surge in planting demand, exceeding the production capacity of seedling providers.
Dr. Hà added that WASI operates the Eakmat Coffee Research and Technology Transfer Centre, a supplier of coffee seedlings and seeds nationwide. Nonetheless, the centre has also been unable to meet market demands this year.
“This year, the centre prepared 2 million seedlings, but it wasn’t enough. Even the coffee seeds sold out by December 2023. The unprecedented demand for coffee cultivation is attributed to the record-breaking coffee prices. The centre did not anticipate such a steep price increase. While the seedling shortage is unavoidable, we urge farmers to procure seedlings from reputable suppliers with reliable sources. Farmers should avoid hasty purchases of substandard seedlings, as defects may only become apparent after significant investment in cultivation,” Dr. Hà emphasized.
