Growing coffee in Laos
Where is coffee grown in Laos?
Mostly on the Bolaven Plateau in the far south, in Champasak province around Paksong, which grows 80–95% of Lao coffee, robusta and arabica alike, on red volcanic soil. Newer farms are spreading in the northern provinces, some replacing opium. Laos exported over 50,000 tonnes of coffee worth about US$100 million in 2024, mostly to Vietnam and Thailand.
At a glance
2026- Production
- 500k bags
- 2026/27 forecast, 60 kg bags
- World rank
- No. 22
- 0.3% of world output
- Species
- Robusta and arabica (largely Catimor)
- Harvest
- Arabica and Catimor October to January; robusta from February (FFTC)
- Area under coffee
- 83,320 ha, 2021 (Lao Statistics Bureau); 93,300 ha harvested, 2017
- Growers
- More than 25,000 coffee and tea households (Green Cup Project)
- Exports
- Over 50,000 t worth about US$100m, 2024 (Vientiane Times)
- Main varieties
- Catimor, Robusta
- Protected name
- GI: Bolaven Coffee
Production: USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, Coffee: World Markets and Trade (July 2026). Other figures describe 2026 and come from the sources at the end of this page. Updated once a year.
Growing regions
All originsLaos grows most of its coffee on one volcanic plateau. On the Bolaven Plateau, in the far south around Paksong, farmers grow robusta and arabica, much of it the rust-resistant Catimor, on red basaltic soil, and Bolaven coffee is now a protected geographical indication. Coffee has become one of the country’s leading farm exports, and it is spreading to the northern hills, where it has helped replace opium. Here’s how much, where, when and where it goes.
The short version
- Over 50,000 tonnes exported in 2024, worth about US$100 million.
- The Bolaven Plateau grows 80–95% of it.
- Robusta and arabica, much of the arabica Catimor.
- Harvest from October; robusta from February.
- A geographical indication: Bolaven Coffee.
- Mostly sold to Vietnam and Thailand.
How much coffee does Laos grow?
The numbers vary enormously between sources:
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Production, 2010 | 46,300 t on 50,600 ha harvested | Lao Statistics Bureau, via University of Bern |
| Production, 2017 | 150,800 t on 93,300 ha harvested | Lao Statistics Bureau, via University of Bern |
| Area, 2021 | 83,320 ha | Lao Statistics Bureau, via FFTC |
| Harvest, 2021 | 30,000 t | FFTC |
| Production, 2025/26 | 475,000 bags (about 28,500 t, by our calculation) | USDA |
| Exports, 2024 | Over 50,000 t, about US$100 million | Vientiane Times; Green Cup Project |
The area harvested rose from about 20,000 hectares in 1990 to 88,000 in 2020, FFTC says, citing FAO. Since then coffee has faced a cassava boom, labour shortages and a changing climate. USDA expects 500,000 bags in 2026/27.
Where is coffee grown in Laos?
On the Bolaven Plateau, in Champasak province and the edges of Salavan, Sekong and Attapeu. Estimates of its share run from 80% (FFTC) to 95% (WIPO) of Lao coffee. Coffee is also expanding in the north, in Phongsaly, Oudomxay, Luang Prabang, Houaphanh and Xiengkhouang, FFTC reports; in Houaphanh, a UN Office on Drugs and Crime project helped farmers swap opium poppies for coffee, the Vientiane Times says.
The coffee
Laos grows both species. The Vientiane Times describes an industry that “mostly grows Robusta coffee and some Arabica varieties”, while an FFTC study put arabica at 80% of plantations. From about the 2000s most farmers switched to Catimor, a rust-resistant hybrid, many digging out their robusta and even their tea, WIPO reports. In the first national green coffee competition, in 2021, a natural arabica from the Jing Jhai cooperative scored 85.35 and a robusta from Bolaven Farms 84.31; a Starbucks judge noted aromas of cinnamon, wine, red fruit and cardamom and flavours of florals, honey, grapefruit and vanilla across the entries.
When is coffee harvested in Laos?
Arabica and Catimor from October to January, and robusta from February, FFTC says, overlapping with the rice harvest, which makes pickers scarce.
Who grows Lao coffee?
More than 25,000 households grow coffee and tea, the Green Cup Project says, and coffee feeds nearly 300,000 workers, the Vientiane Times reports. Most smallholders have 1–2 hectares; large exporters with their own brands, the founders of the Lao Coffee Association, handle about 80% of exports, and helped set up the Bolaven coffee GI, FFTC found.
Where does Lao coffee go?
Mostly to Vietnam and Thailand, then the EU, Japan and Cambodia. In 2021 green beans made up about 90% of coffee exports; the rest was mainly roasted coffee for Cambodia, China and Thailand, FFTC reports.
A short history
- About 1915–1920: French colonists plant coffee, first in the north, then on the Bolaven Plateau in the south.
- Mid-20th century: war, frost and rust hold production back for decades, WIPO says.
- 1986: the New Economic Mechanism opens the economy, and coffee exports grow.
- Late 1990s–2000s: Catimor spreads across the Bolaven Plateau.
- 2021: the first Lao green coffee competition.
- 2024: exports top 50,000 tonnes.
How do Laotians drink their coffee?
Often strong, robusta-based and sweet, brewed through a cloth filter over condensed milk, as Lao sock coffee.
Lao coffee and other origins
- Coffee in Vietnam: a leading buyer of Lao coffee.
- Coffee in Thailand: the neighbour across the Mekong.
- The atlas: Laos’s growing areas on the map.