National —
On July 4th, 2024, Ms. Nattharada Kunaviwattananon, the President of the Specialty Coffee Association of Thailand, revealed that the specialty coffee market in Thailand continues to grow by at least 25% annually in terms of the number of shops and baristas.
This growth is driven by changing consumer behavior and large operators expanding into the specialty coffee market. Currently, specialty coffee is valued at 2 billion baht within the 20 billion baht premium coffee market and the 100 billion baht overall coffee market.
Nattharada stated that Thai people consume up to 90,000 tons of coffee per year, averaging 1.5 cups per day. However, domestic coffee bean production is only 30,000 tons per year, with 6,000 tons being specialty beans, insufficient to meet demand.
As a result, an additional 60,000 tons are imported annually. Production has been affected by climate change and global warming, reducing output and nearly doubling prices. Specialty coffee prices currently range from 200 to 10,000 baht per kilogram.
Additionally, from July 11th to the 14th, the Thailand Coffee Fest 2024 will be held at IMPACT Muang Thong Thani, Bangkok, featuring 300 booths from Thai and international specialty coffee operators. The event is expected to attract 80,000-100,000 attendees and generate 500-600 million baht.
Highlights of the event include the Coffee Creativity Zone, presenting creative ideas through pop-up activities by The Cloud, showcasing local Thai ingredients for cafes to use in their beverage menus.
This article originally appeared on our sister website The Pattaya News.
