Laos is upping its coffee game
As reported in the online Time website, Laos is making an especial effort to improve its coffee industry. In an interview, Sinouk Sisombat, the president of the Lao Coffee Association, wants to produce coffee of a globally renowned quality and seeks in particular to boost the sales of the coffee grown on his own plantation in the Bolaven Plateau.
He prides himself on the Arabica coffee bean on his farm, applauding in particular its acidity. He is not the only one: in the 1920s, the French also noted the quality of coffee grown in the Bolaven Plateau, ascribed to the volcanic soil which has many minerals and also the high altitude. However, the wars which crippled the world shortly afterwards, followed by the communists taking power in Laos, meant that the coffee industry was not top of the country’s priorities. However, once Laos relaxed its attitude to private enterprise in the early 1990s, new opportunities became available to those who are interested in developing business in the country.
Sinouk, for example, became immersed in the coffee industry and touted his wares to the Institute of Montpelier to stamp their approval on the quality of his product. And Sinouk is not the only one. The Arabica bean, introduced by the French, is slowly being reintroduced as a marketable product and also the robusta variety, so that coffee is Laos’ most valuable agricultural export. International companies, such as Olan from Singapore, have invested in their own coffee plantations in Laos and are delighted by the quality and speed of their results.