Coffee exports in the first 10 months of this year set a new record at 1.41 million tons, earning more than US$3 billion, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has reported.

The coffee exports showed increases of 37.7 percent in volume and 32.7 percent in value over the same period last year.

The demand of two biggest coffee import markets, the US which accounts for 12.11 percent of Vietnam's export value and Germany with 12.09 percent continued to grow.

Also, coffee exported to Indonesia increased 9.4 times in volume and 8.8 times in value, compared to last year's period.

The national turnover for the previous full year was $2.7 billion.

Vietnam now has surpassed Brazil to become the biggest coffee exporter since the beginning of the third quarter this year, International Coffee Organization statistics show.

Coffee exports were forecast to reach 1.6-1.7 million tons this year.

The ministry's Crop Production Department said Vietnam must continue to focus on coffee quality for the sector to develop sustainably.

The department recommended the application of modern farming techniques and processing technologies, together with the acceleration of promotional activities and trademark protection, to help boost the coffee sector.