In recent years, the practice of harvesting large amounts of unripe (green) coffee cherries has remained common and difficult to control. The main reason is that coffee growers lack a coordinated community approach to crop protection: many rush to harvest early out of fear of theft.
This has led to lower-quality coffee; the harvest season is pushed forward, and when harvesting coincides with heavy rains, the coffee quality deteriorates even further.
To ensure the 2011–2012 coffee season runs effectively and that post-harvest coffee meets high market standards, the Đắk Nông Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has advised local authorities, businesses, and individual coffee producers to limit the picking of green cherries. Harvesting coffee that contains many unripe beans reduces both yield and the quality of commercial coffee.
Farmers are therefore urged to wait until at least 95% of the cherries in the field are fully ripe before harvesting. At the same time, local authorities and agricultural agencies are asked to step up public education and strictly monitor and penalize the buying and selling of coffee with excessive green or immature cherries beyond regulated limits.
It is worth noting that coffee exports have helped thousands of farming households in the province escape poverty and achieve better livelihoods. Yet, most farmers remain unaware of Vietnam Standard 4193—which defines acceptable levels of moisture, impurities, and green-bean ratios—issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
To improve the economic value of coffee, alongside production zoning, technology transfer, and intensive cultivation and processing guidance, authorities need to strengthen communication efforts and encourage farmers to change their harvesting and post-harvest storage methods. It is also necessary to establish strict penalties for companies that intentionally purchase low-quality coffee to profit.
Only with these measures can the province’s post-harvest handling standards for coffee beans achieve the intended quality and economic benefits.