European firms inaugurate $84 mln instant coffee factory in southern Vietnam

The Netherlands-headquartered Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) and Poland-based Instanta Sp.zo.o. inaugurated a $84.2 million instant coffee factory in Binh Duong province on Friday.

The factory, under newly-established joint venture iLD Coffee Vietnam, has an annual capacity of 5,600 tons of freeze-dried instant coffee, serving global markets like Europe and emerging markets in Asia, LDC said in a release.

It is equipped with the latest extraction and freeze-drying technology, reflecting the company’s commitment to safety, LDC added.

The new venture will support LDC’s global strategy to diversify the portfolio with more value-added products, while indicating the firm’s commitment to developing Vietnam as a key market and complementing the firm’s Robusta green coffee business, said Ben Clarkson, LDC’s global head of coffee.

“Leveraging our expertise in coffee sourcing in Vietnam and extensive global network, combined with Instanta’s leadership in the instant coffee business, ILD Coffee Vietnam is well positioned for success,” the executive added.

Vietnam is among the biggest coffee exporters in the world. In the first eight months of this year, Vietnamese coffee was exported to 38 markets. The export price hit a record high of $3,054 per ton, nearly $700 higher than the same period last year.

During this period, Vietnam shipped 1.2 million tons of coffee, worth about $3 billion, the Vietnam Coffee-Cocoa Association (Vicofa) said.