The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Gia Lai Provincial People’s Committee have jointly broken ground on the construction of infrastructure supporting cooperatives in developing high-quality coffee growing areas in the central highlands.

With total investment of VND80 billion ($3.3 million), this forms part of the “Infrastructure Investment to Support Cooperatives in Developing Coffee Material Regions” project.

Speaking at the breaking-ground ceremony on August 22, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam said Vietnam is one of the leading coffee exporters in the world, with export value reaching $2.7 billion so far this year.

“Vietnam is also a destination for many large-scale coffee producers,” he went on. “Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has decided to develop standardized coffee growing areas in key regions, to satisfy domestic consumption and exports.”

The ministry plans to form four standardized coffee growing areas in the central highlands on a total of 19,700 ha, in Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Kon Tum, and Dak Nong provinces.

Some 64 cooperatives with 5,230 coffee producing households in these localities will benefit from the project.

“Infrastructure is essential, but what is more important is the reorganization of production activities in regions to enhance the quality, value, and brand of Vietnamese coffee,” Deputy Minister Nam added.