Champassak coffee exports soar
Champassak coffee exports soar
Coffee exports have increased in the first six months of this fiscal year, with the rise also set to drive up next year's export figures, Champassak province reports.
The province has exported more than 6,770 tonnes of coffee bean in the first six months of the 2013-14 fiscal year and the larger export figure will also be evident in the last six months, according to a report from the province last week.
The report said the province has coffee farms on more than 49,000 hectares of land and would be able to produce more than 64,000 tonnes for both domestic and international markets.
Champassak province's main export is coffee and it sells most of its beans to Europe, Japan and Vietnam, while selling rubber to Vietnam, rice to the EU, China, Singapore and Indonesia, as well as vegetables to Thailand.
Last fiscal year, about 34,113 tonnes of coffee worth US$83 million – which equals to 63 percent of the export value - was sold overseas. This represents a 26 percent increase over the previous fiscal year, the provincial Industry and Commerce Department reported at the end of last year.
Champassak province has seen the agricultural goods production sector grow in the first six months of this fiscal year after better development of people's living conditions.
These are mostly families who are operating in agricultural production of crops such as rice, coffee, vegetables and livestock, the report noted.
The province produced more than 500,000 tonnes of rice, with crop and vegetable farms on over 17,500 hectares of land yielding over 100,000 tonnes of produce.
The most outstanding product is vegetable exports, including cabbage of about 12,270 tonnes and Chinese cabbage at almost 3,000 tonnes.
For livestock breeding, the province now has 192 farms, including 30 cattle farms, eight partridge farms, 10 poultry farms, 97 pig farms, one ostrich farm and 21 fish farms.
The agricultural goods production sector is a key part of the Champassak provincial social and economic development strategy.
The provincial Planning and Investment Department reported that the province's economy had a growth rate of about 9.8 percent in the first nine months, with a value of more than 8.74 trillion kip and income per capita is over 12.15 million kip (US$1,514).
The province could also make revenue of about 735.35 billion kip, which is around 69 percent of the plan and around a 16 percent increase from the same period of last year.
The department reported that the province will target 120 local and foreign investment projects worth 3,203 billion kip in the 2013-14 fiscal year.
Local investment projects in the agriculture and forestry industry also came to a total of 197 billion kip, with foreign investment in agriculture and forestry also reaching 284 billion kip.
vientiane times
