More than 100 families in Bình Thuận commune, Buôn Hồ Town (Đắk Lắk) were thrown into panic upon hearing that the Tám Loan coffee purchasing and consignment agency in Bình Minh Hamlet 7 had declared bankruptcy. Over the past few days, they have abandoned their year-end work and camped out at the Tám Loan agency, hoping to recover the money and coffee they had consigned.
The crisis began on January 22, when villagers who had deposited money and coffee with the couple Mr. Dương Tám and Mrs. Phạm Thị Loan—owners of the Tám Loan agency—came to request payment. The couple replied that they had no funds.
When signs of default became clear, large crowds—sometimes up to a hundred people—surrounded the couple’s house, demanding repayment. Most of these farmers had entrusted their entire year’s earnings, both cash and coffee, to the Tám Loan agency. Families who once had savings suddenly faced the prospect of losing everything.
According to Mr. Trương Văn Phấn, head of Bình Minh Hamlet 7, about 30 families in his hamlet alone had consigned 58 tons of coffee and 1.7 billion VND. Some deposited a few dozen million, while others entrusted up to a billion. Mr. Phấn himself had just delivered 4.8 tons of freshly harvested coffee.
Mr. Dương Tám explained that his family opened the coffee purchasing and consignment business in 2004. By 2009, lacking staff, they stopped buying coffee directly, but because of established trust, villagers continued to consign their coffee for interest. For every ton of green coffee, depositors earned 25% interest. By their agreement, depositors could set a price and withdraw money at any time.
At the time of collapse, the agency was holding deposits from more than 100 households totaling about 160 tons of coffee and over 12 billion VND in cash.
Mr. Tám claimed that all the money and coffee had been handed over to his wife’s sister, Mrs. Phạm Thị Lan, who ran another agency in Thống Nhất Ward of Buôn Hồ Town. Lan had in turn lent it to a woman named Nhơn, but Lan has been unable to recover the funds or coffee from her.
Buôn Hồ Town police have now summoned Mr. Dương Tám and Mrs. Phạm Thị Loan for investigation to clarify the case.