LONDON/HANOI —
Some local dealers are using a tax dodge to buy up much of the coffee in Vietnam, the world's top producer of the robusta variety used for instant coffee, slashing the market share of international traders.
The dealers take advantage of loopholes in Vietnam's system governing value-added-tax payments and refunds for exportable goods, using some of the resulting price advantage to outbid competitors in buying coffee from farmers, traders said.
The coffee is then being sold on to exporters, but leaving a murky paperwork trail.
European Coffee Federation [ECF] secretary general Roel Vaessen said the body, representing major international trade houses and roasters, was concerned about the issue.
"It has been drawn to our attention, we do take it seriously, and we have had internal consultations with our members on how best to address the issue," said Vaessen, declining to comment further.
Vietnam's cash crop
According to the organization's website, ECF members include companies such as Louis Dreyfus, Volcafe, Bernhard Rothfos and Nestle.
Vietnam's total export volumes, worth roughly $3 billion a year, are unlikely to be much affected and consumers worldwide therefore will feel little impact on price, while coffee farmers are getting a bit more for their beans.
The harm arising from the VAT dodge is felt by Vietnam's state coffers, for which coffee provides a major revenue stream, and by companies that pay taxes. Efforts to increase the traceability and transparency of coffee origins also are being damaged.
"This tax dodging has made it difficult for legitimate companies to buy coffee locally," said an executive of a Vietnamese export firm based in Ho Chi Minh City, who asked not to be identified.
International traders estimate their market share of exports has fallen to about 20 percent in the current season, from 35 percent in 2011/12, mostly due to this tax issue.
Foreign firms say it also may have a longer-term impact on foreign direct investment in Vietnam, although the country's dominance in robusta coffee is assured for now.
"Trading companies with expansion plans will put them on ice," said a trader at an international firm, adding that future projects could be shifted to rival robusta coffee producers in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia and Laos.
Unfair advantage
The dealers avoiding VAT can gain a competitive advantage of up to $70 per tonne of coffee they buy from farmers - amounting to about four percent of the total, making it difficult for international traders to compete, traders said.
Liffe robusta coffee futures were at $2,004 per tonne shortly after 1100 GMT on Thursday.
Asked to comment on the tax issue, the chairman of the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association [Vicofa], Luong Van Tu, said: "There are several small businesses that have been dodging the tax, while most others follow government rules properly."
The local authority of the country's largest coffee growing province, Daklak, said it knows of the practice and has set up checkpoints to inspect coffee cargoes for proper invoicing.
Huge export volume
Vietnam exported 24.4 million 60-kg bags of coffee in 2011/2012, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. World 2011/2012 coffee exports were estimated by the USDA at around 114.4 million bags.
Its May coffee export volume is forecast to fall to around 100,000 tons, from an estimated 110,000 tons loaded in April, due to slowing trade and difficulties in buying beans locally, traders said.
The tax issue is creating problems with traceability, as invoices can help provide transparency along the supply chain, aiding sustainability certification schemes such as Rainforest Alliance and 4C certified coffee.
"A lot of companies invested serious efforts in building up these sustainably sourced coffee flows, and then because of the tax situation and the way coffee is being channelled locally, that is lost," said an industry source.
The dealers take advantage of loopholes in Vietnam's system governing value-added-tax payments and refunds for exportable goods, using some of the resulting price advantage to outbid competitors in buying coffee from farmers, traders said.
The coffee is then being sold on to exporters, but leaving a murky paperwork trail.
European Coffee Federation [ECF] secretary general Roel Vaessen said the body, representing major international trade houses and roasters, was concerned about the issue.
"It has been drawn to our attention, we do take it seriously, and we have had internal consultations with our members on how best to address the issue," said Vaessen, declining to comment further.
Vietnam's cash crop
According to the organization's website, ECF members include companies such as Louis Dreyfus, Volcafe, Bernhard Rothfos and Nestle.
Vietnam's total export volumes, worth roughly $3 billion a year, are unlikely to be much affected and consumers worldwide therefore will feel little impact on price, while coffee farmers are getting a bit more for their beans.
The harm arising from the VAT dodge is felt by Vietnam's state coffers, for which coffee provides a major revenue stream, and by companies that pay taxes. Efforts to increase the traceability and transparency of coffee origins also are being damaged.
"This tax dodging has made it difficult for legitimate companies to buy coffee locally," said an executive of a Vietnamese export firm based in Ho Chi Minh City, who asked not to be identified.
International traders estimate their market share of exports has fallen to about 20 percent in the current season, from 35 percent in 2011/12, mostly due to this tax issue.
Foreign firms say it also may have a longer-term impact on foreign direct investment in Vietnam, although the country's dominance in robusta coffee is assured for now.
"Trading companies with expansion plans will put them on ice," said a trader at an international firm, adding that future projects could be shifted to rival robusta coffee producers in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia and Laos.
Unfair advantage
The dealers avoiding VAT can gain a competitive advantage of up to $70 per tonne of coffee they buy from farmers - amounting to about four percent of the total, making it difficult for international traders to compete, traders said.
Liffe robusta coffee futures were at $2,004 per tonne shortly after 1100 GMT on Thursday.
Asked to comment on the tax issue, the chairman of the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association [Vicofa], Luong Van Tu, said: "There are several small businesses that have been dodging the tax, while most others follow government rules properly."
The local authority of the country's largest coffee growing province, Daklak, said it knows of the practice and has set up checkpoints to inspect coffee cargoes for proper invoicing.
Huge export volume
Vietnam exported 24.4 million 60-kg bags of coffee in 2011/2012, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. World 2011/2012 coffee exports were estimated by the USDA at around 114.4 million bags.
Its May coffee export volume is forecast to fall to around 100,000 tons, from an estimated 110,000 tons loaded in April, due to slowing trade and difficulties in buying beans locally, traders said.
The tax issue is creating problems with traceability, as invoices can help provide transparency along the supply chain, aiding sustainability certification schemes such as Rainforest Alliance and 4C certified coffee.
"A lot of companies invested serious efforts in building up these sustainably sourced coffee flows, and then because of the tax situation and the way coffee is being channelled locally, that is lost," said an industry source.
