Some Vietnam coffee farms thrive despite drought, but may not stop espresso price hikes

PLEIKU, Vietnam — Vietnamese coffee growers have been hit hard this year by the worst drought in nearly a decade, raising concerns of pricier espressos across the world, even as some farmers keep yields healthy with clever countermeasures.

Domestic forecasts for next season's harvest in Vietnam, the world's second biggest coffee producer, remain grim.

The Mercantile Exchange of Vietnam (MVX) expects a 10-16 per cent fall in output because of the extreme heat that hit the Central Highlands coffee region between March and early May, according to deputy head Nguyen Ngoc Quynh.

However, a return of rains in recent weeks has improved the outlook, boosting confidence among farmers and officials. But it remains unclear whether the improved weather will help boost output and drive down prices of robusta beans, the variety most commonly found in espressos and instant coffees, of which Vietnam is the world's top producer.

"I expect the country's output to fall by 10-15 per cent, but my farm will increase production", said Nguyen Huu Long, who grows coffee in a 50-hectare plantation in Gia Lai, one of the top coffee-producing provinces in Vietnam.

To protect his trees during the heatwave, he kept the soil around the plants moist by covering it with leaves. Contrary to the local practise of cutting trees after a few years to boost soil quality, he keeps his growing for decades. As a result, plants have deeper roots and broader access to underground water reserves.

Farmers in his plantation also soften the soil around plants to improve absorption of rainwater and fertilisers, said Doan Van Thang, 39.

Tran Thi Huong, a tenant farmer who works in another plantation 20 km from Pleiku, Gia Lai's capital, resorted to using more water than