Dak Lak (VNA) – The seventh annual Buon Ma Thuot coffeefestival will be held in Buon Ma Thuot city, and the districts of Buon Don andLak in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak from March 9-16, heard a pressconference on January 15.

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Tuan Ha said the eventaims to continue promoting the Buon Ma Thuot coffee brand, thus affirming theposition of Dak Lak coffee in particular, as well as more broadly Vietnamesecoffee’s important position on the global market.

It will also honour coffee growers, processors and traders, while encouragingthe community to join hands to further develop the coffee industry.

Through the festival, Dak Lak hopes to introduce its potential and strengths,and call for more investment, trade and tourism projects in the province.

The festival will feature a wide range of activities, including the 2019 DakLak investment promotion conference, an exhibition on coffee, a seminar on thedevelopment of Vietnamese specialty coffee, a photo and coffee history exhibition,a street festival, a contest for farmers, a Buon Don elephant festival, and aculinary competition.

Miss Universe Vietnam 2017 H’Hen Nie, who alsofinished in the top five of Miss Universe 2018, has been selected as thecommunications ambassador of the festival.

Coffee wasfirst cultivated in Vietnam in 1857. To date, Vietnam’s coffee growing areasreached 20,000ha. The country exports 1.8 million tonnes of coffee beans,raking in 3.2 billion USD per year. Vietnam is currently the world’s secondlargest coffee exporter, after Brazil.

Vietnam exported more than 1.8 milliontonnes of coffee worth 3.54 billion USD in 2018, an increase of 20 percent involume and 1.2 percent in value compared to the previous year.

The Central Highlands province of Dak Lak boaststhe country’s largest coffee-growing area, with a total area of about 190,000ha,producing 450,000 tonnes of coffee beans annually.–VNA