Vietnam takes 9 of the 10 international slots at a Robusta competition, and the unit price to Japan rises 3.9-fold

On October 2, 2026, the Dak Lak Province local paper Bao Dak Lak reported that Vietnamese entries took 9 of the 10 "international" group slots in the final Top 20 of the 3rd GCEF Global Robusta Coffee Competition (Global Robusta Awards 2026). The host is the Greater China Coffee Industry Elite Alliance (GCEF). There were 50 entries: 27 from China, 19 from Vietnam, and 4 from other countries. The awards ceremony is in mid-October 2026, and the rankings are not yet decided. What matters for Japanese readers is less the rankings themselves than the fact that the premise of "Robusta is a cheap bean" has already collapsed on the import statistics as well.

Of 50 entries, 19 were Vietnamese, and of those 13 came from members of the Buon Ma Thuot association

First, let us accurately pin down the shape of the competition. The official name is the 3rd GCEF Global Robusta Coffee Competition, also known as Global Robusta Awards 2026. The host is GCEF (Lien minh Tinh hoa Nganh Ca phe Dai Trung Hoa). The total number of entries this time was 50, broken down as 27 from China, 19 from Vietnam, and 4 from other countries. Of Vietnam's 19 entries, 13 were from member companies of the Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Association (Hiep hoi Ca phe Buon Ma Thuot).

The entry conditions were reported too. Strict selection from the 2025-2026 crop, hand-picking of fully ripe cherries, fine processing, green beans that are uniform and defect-free, and no negative flavor defects. It is an entirely different story from the purchasing conditions of commodity Robusta.

Judging, after a stage of Community Evaluation, has experts, industry people, and coffee lovers directly taste and score across a network of more than 100 evaluation points. The cupping scoring follows the Robusta technical standards of the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) and the standards of the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI). The evaluation ran from August 26 to September 27, 2026.

And the result. Of the 10 entries in the "international" group that made the final Top 20, Vietnam took 9. Of these, member companies of the Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Association put out 6, broken down as Aeroco Coffee 2, Coffee Cherry 2, 8Ro Coffee & Roaster 1, and PM Coffee 1.

This is easy to misread, so let us draw a line. "9 of 10" is not about the whole Top 20 but about the 10 slots allocated to the international group within the Top 20. The breakdown of the remaining 10 slots is not written in the article. And the awards ceremony is in mid-October; what is decided at present is only advancement to the finals.

The unit price of Vietnamese beans that Japan buys went from 143 yen to 552 yen over 14 years

Let us also look at the Japanese figures. These are country-by-country import volumes and unit prices compiled by the All Japan Coffee Association based on the Ministry of Finance's "Trade Statistics." To note in advance, this statistic is by country, not by variety. It is the average unit price of Vietnamese green beans, not the unit price of Robusta. The comparison with Brazilian beans also lines up things with different variety and quality compositions.

The unit of the unit price is yen/kg, and 2024 is a confirmed preliminary figure.

First, the unit price of Vietnamese beans for Japan went from 143 yen/kg in 2010 to 552 yen/kg in 2024, a 3.86-fold rise over 14 years. Brazilian beans over the same period went from 266 yen to 615 yen, a 2.31-fold rise. The rate of increase is far larger for Vietnam.

Second, the price ratio against Brazilian beans changed. In 2010 Vietnamese beans were at 53.8% of the Brazilian unit price, but in 2024 it is 89.8%. It is no longer the half-price relationship of the past.

Third, the presence in volume has risen too. Japan's total import of green coffee beans fell 12.2% from 410,530 tonnes in 2010 to 360,287 tonnes in 2024, yet Vietnamese beans rose 77.8% from 54,737 tonnes to 97,331 tonnes. The share went from 13.3% to 27.0%, and the top three countries of Brazil, Vietnam, and Colombia accounted for 73.1% of the 2024 import volume.

To note, a large part of this unit-price rise is due to the surge in international market prices. If the Robusta futures price itself rises, the import unit price rises regardless of quality. The proof is that Brazilian and Colombian beans both rose 2-to-3-fold over the same period. It is not a story that the competition results pushed up the unit price.

The relative ranking has not changed either. The 2024 Vietnamese price of 552 yen/kg still sits below Brazilian beans at 615 yen, the overall average of 677 yen, and Colombian beans at 790 yen. The relationship itself — "blend in Vietnamese beans and it gets cheaper" — remains.

What changed is the absolute amount. The figure a Japanese ingredient manager faces in practice is 552 yen/kg, not 143 yen/kg. At the same blend ratio, the amount in the raw-material cost is 3.86 times larger. Even if you think you are choosing the cheaper production area, the number on the ledger is nothing like before.

If you cannot buy cheap, move to the side that selects lots that sell high

The main outlets for Vietnamese Robusta in Japan are instant coffee, canned and PET-bottle coffee drinks, and blend bases. Cheapness and volume were the reasons for selection. Once the unit price comes to 90% of Brazilian beans, the persuasiveness of that reason falls. The moves are several: revising the blend ratio, passing it on to the product price, reworking the procurement timing and contract form, and swapping the production area. Where the competition comes in is as material for the option of "shifting to the quality side within the same production area."

The competition becomes a tool for the latter. That the judging follows SCA's Robusta technical standards and CQI means you can speak the same language as the Japanese side's Q graders and cuppers. The definition of defect beans, the cupping protocol, and the meaning of scores are shared. Information comes not in the form of "the locals say it is delicious" but "this score on this standard."

A specific point of contact is given too. The Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Association put out 13 entries from members and sent 6 into the Top 20. The four companies named are Aeroco Coffee, Coffee Cherry, 8Ro Coffee & Roaster, and PM Coffee. Using the association as a point of contact lets you trace which lot was processed how and how much volume there is.

However, the production volume and available supply of each lot are not in this report. How much a year the entry beans, conditioned on hand-picked ripe cherries and fine processing, can be put out from the gardens they come from is unknown. Before requesting samples, it is better to start by asking the volume.

The move to compete on quality and the move to put ledgers in order are advancing separately

In Vietnam's coffee production areas, document preparation is advancing on an axis separate from quality too. Son La Province issued a policy to divide 36,000 ha of coffee into three categories and build a ledger by December 30. It is a plot ledger to respond to the EU's deforestation-free regulation (EUDR). Son La is in the north, while the name that came up in this competition is Dak Lak in the Central Highlands. They are not the same production area, and having a plot ledger does not necessarily mean you can trace from the shipping lot back to the farmland. Even so, it is worth noting that the move to be selected by quality and the move to show one's provenance by document are advancing simultaneously in separate provinces. Which requirement the Japanese side puts out first changes the production area it deals with.

The Central Highlands' planting is in motion too. In Gia Lai Province, durian withered over more than 10 ha, and with the cause unidentified farmers returned to coffee. Farmland that had been converted, drawn by durian's high prices, is returning to coffee again. The Central Highlands' acreage swings finely each year by the profitability of the item. The gardens evaluated at a competition are only a part of it; the rest moves on commodity market prices.

Seen from the Japanese side, two layers are forming within the same "Vietnamese Robusta." A large layer that moves on market prices, and a small layer selected by standards. The former you buy by price, the latter by provenance and records. Mix them up in your thinking and neither procurement goes well.

If you are going to inquire, it is quicker to wait until after the mid-October awards ceremony

Let us summarize the competition's outline once more.

The timing to inquire is after the awards ceremony. Once the rankings are fixed, how each company appeals which lot will also be decided, and arranging samples becomes easier to get through. The five things to ask when inquiring are: the score, the processing method, the lot volume, the planned acreage for the 2027 crop, and whether the same quality can be put out continuously from the same garden. A competition is a single shot, so there is no guarantee anywhere that the same quality comes out the next year too.

Summary

Vietnamese entries took 9 of the 10 international slots in the final Top 20. However, the rankings come out in mid-October, and it is not at the stage of "having won." In parallel, the unit price of Vietnamese green beans that Japan buys rose 3.86-fold from 143 yen/kg in 2010 to 552 yen/kg in 2024, reaching 90% of Brazilian beans.

What I would recommend to those in charge of ingredients is, if you use Vietnamese beans in your blend, to re-line the purchase unit prices of the most recent five years, and after the awards ceremony to inquire with the Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Association about the scores and volumes of the Top-20 lots. In the same production area there are two layers: one you buy on the market, one you buy on standards. Just being aware of which way you are buying changes the material for negotiation.

Sources

• Bao Dak Lak, "Ca phe Robusta Viet Nam chiem 9/10 mau quoc te vao Top 20 Global Robusta Awards 2026"
• All Japan Coffee Association, country-by-country import volume and unit price of Japan's green coffee beans (source: Ministry of Finance "Trade Statistics")
• All Japan Coffee Association, statistical materials