Food Expo PRO 2026, a trade food fair organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), opened on August 13, with more than 1,850 companies from over 30 countries and regions exhibiting. Robusta from Vietnam, the world's second-largest coffee exporter, went out to seek new sales channels at this venue where buyers concentrate. For Japanese roasters and trading houses that have long sourced Vietnamese Robusta for canned and instant coffee, the fact that buyers in Hong Kong and mainland China have begun naming the same beans is a harbinger that sourcing competition will grow even fiercer.
At a Hong Kong trade venue drawing 1,850 companies, Vietnamese Robusta stood alongside Chinese-speaking buyers
Food Expo PRO is not a consumer product fair but a negotiation-focused trade show where wholesale, import, foodservice and retail buyers come to negotiate sourcing. HKTDC's announcement puts this edition's exhibitors at over 1,850, with participation spanning more than 30 countries and regions. As a free port, Hong Kong has light tariff and quarantine procedures and has functioned as a hub where buyers from mainland China, Southeast Asia, and Europe and the Americas gather in one place. That Vietnamese coffee was on show here means a move has begun to expand the buyers of green and roasted beans directly to end users in the Chinese-speaking sphere.
What is worth keeping in mind here is that the Hong Kong fair is a venue for creating new buyers. The more the producing region thickens the China-Hong Kong route, the more occasions Japanese buyers, who have steadily drawn Vietnamese product until now, will have to compete with other countries' demand on both price and volume. The scramble for raw materials happens not in a year when beans are in surplus but in a year when the number of demand-side channels increases.
Where Vietnamese coffee stands now: a 20% world share and the top spot in Robusta
Vietnamese coffee is now exported to more than 100 countries and regions and supports about 2.6 million jobs across the industry. Its share of the world coffee market is roughly 19-21%, second in the world by export volume, and the largest producer in the world when limited to Robusta (Coffea canephora). Robusta is indispensable as the raw material behind the body and bitterness of canned and instant coffee and commercial blends, and Japan's processing demand has depended heavily on it.
| Item | Figure / detail |
|---|---|
| Food Expo PRO 2026 opening | August 13, 2026 (organized by HKTDC) |
| Number of exhibitors | Over 1,850 companies |
| Participating countries and regions | More than 30 |
| Vietnam's export destinations | More than 100 countries and regions |
| Employment in the coffee industry | About 2.6 million people |
| World market share | About 19-21% (second in the world by export volume) |
| Robusta production | Largest producer in the world |
Figures are based on VietnamPlus (dated August 13) and HKTDC's published values. The market share varies by year and compiling body.
This position carries two meanings for buyers. One is the depth of supply: no other country can put out this much volume from a single origin. The other is price linkage: Vietnam's harvest and export policy move the world Robusta market directly. That is precisely why the design of Vietnam's sales channels, meaning whom it sells to, is directly tied to Japan's procurement costs.
When Hong Kong and China turn into buyers, where does Japan's sourcing gain or lose its edge
China's coffee consumption has grown rapidly over the past few years, expanding from a style of drinking with milk and sugar to black and high-concentration extraction. Hong Kong is the gateway for that mainland-China commercial flow. If Vietnam's producing regions capture Chinese-speaking demand via Hong Kong, some of the high-quality Robusta that previously flowed to Japan and Europe will be diverted to a nearer market with greater room to grow. Shipments to China, close in distance and cheap in logistics, tend to hold a margin advantage from the producer's point of view.
Japanese canned and instant coffee and commercial blends build their taste on the premise of a Robusta blend, so abruptly switching the raw material to another origin breaks the flavor design itself. For that reason, missing out when part of the supply flows to the Chinese-speaking sphere is not merely a matter of purchase price. The key to Japanese buyers not being outbid is not only adding to the unit price. Three things become material that convinces a producing region that 'Japan is a buyer that keeps buying': a multi-year contract promising long-term offtake volume, written specifications such as green-bean moisture level and defect rate, and a transaction history that can be backed up by origin codes and traceability. A buying approach that beats down spot prices is the first to be dropped when the number of buyer channels increases. In fact, in Vietnam's Robusta regions a move to lift yields and quality by replanting aging orchards is advancing, the replanting to dwarf Robusta advancing in Lam Dong as this shows, the supply side has begun a switch from quantity to quality. The more beans are chosen on quality, the more buyers, too, are selected.
From green beans to processed products: producing regions have begun to hold the added value
Another thing not to overlook is that Vietnam is no longer content with exporting green beans alone. If roasting, grinding and turning into instant are done domestically and exports go out in a form close to the finished product, the profit retained in the producing region changes greatly. A trade fair like Hong Kong's can be used not only for bulk green-bean deals but also as a venue to pitch bagged roasted beans and drip products to retail buyers. the processing shift to 'powder' advancing in Dak Lak As this shows, the producing region is trying to move up from a raw-material supplier to a product supplier.
For Japanese importers, this means the entry point of sourcing changes. In addition to the conventional model of buying green beans and roasting them domestically, the choice of how to use the Vietnamese side's roasting and processing capacity takes on reality. The range of varieties is also widening, and to a production map once dominated solely by Robusta, Arabica from the Son La highlands high-altitude cultivation like this has been added. If you see your sourcing counterpart only as a cheap Robusta origin, you will be outdone by buyers who secure the options of processed products and varieties first.
Practical points Japanese roasters will want to check in summer negotiations
- Present multi-year offtake volumes and get out of spot dependence. In producing regions with more buyer channels, a commitment to continued buying takes priority.
- Spell out moisture level, defect rate and screen size in the contract to secure specifications equal to the good product flowing to China via Hong Kong.
- Make the submission of origin codes and traceability a condition. The more a producing region advances the digitization of export documents, the less it stumbles later at quarantine and customs clearance.
- In addition to green beans, obtain quotes for roasted beans and semi-finished instant products. Comparing total cost including processing can change the conclusion from a green-bean-only comparison.
- Secure harvest-condition information for the harvest period (roughly October-December) early and provisionally reserve volumes before the next year's market moves.
The widening of destinations for Vietnamese product that Hong Kong's 1,850 companies show
That Vietnamese Robusta was on show at Food Expo PRO 2026 is not merely exhibition news. It is a structural change in which, at the gateway to the growing Chinese-speaking market, producing regions have begun connecting directly with new buyers. The supply strength of a 20% world share and the top spot in Robusta is unchanged, but the options for whom to sell those beans to are surely increasing. What Japanese procurement staff should do next is to fix offtake volumes and specifications before the autumn new-bean negotiations and to rebuild their suppliers with quotes that include processed products. Not a one-shot gamble on low prices: only buyers who switch to a design that gets them chosen as a partner that keeps buying will secure next season's Robusta as planned.
