Vietnam exported 126,000 tons in April, 3.1% lower than previous estimates of 130,000 tons, according to new figures released by the Statistics Office. Total exports over the first five months of 2011 are estimated at 808,000 tons, a 41% year-on-year increase. 

The figures include an estimated sale of 110,000 tons in May, according to figures released by the General Statistics Office in Hanoi. 

In terms of revenue, the rising price of coffee looks set to see 2011 be a bumper year for Vietnam. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has upgraded its estimates of earnings from coffee exports and expects it to  reach up to US$2.6 billion on exports of 1.2 million tons. 

The first four months of 2011 saw exports earnings rise to U$1.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of almost 50%.

“Coffee prices follow a cycle based on a five-year increase and five-year decrease,” according to statement from Doan Trieu Nhan, the farmer chairman of VICOFA (Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association).  “We are currently experiencing the upwards surge.”

Meanwhile, the Vietnam Economic Times has reported that the Tay Nguyen Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute in the country’s Central Highlands region has announced that it needs to replant around 20% of the coffee plants, covering around  100,000 ha of coffee in the 2011-15 period, 

According to the Institute, most of the coffee trees it is targeting to replace are between 17-25 years old and yield an average of 1.2 tons per hectare, about 50% of the average total national yield. 

“The average cost to replant one hectare of coffee will be around VND100-120 million (US$4,700-5,700),” according to Le Ngoc Bau, the head of the institute. “The replanting is a small issue to large companies, but it is a big issue to farmers as more than 91% of farmers lack capital.”

The Institute is looking to the government and the private sector, represented by coffee processors and exporters, to lend its support over the first two years of the project to prevent farmers from switching to other crops.