Hanoi, Feb 4 (IANS): Vietnam will host a coffee festival in the central highlands Dak Lak province, its largest coffee grower, from March 10 to March 14.

The Buon Ma Thuot coffee festival, to be held for the 8th time, will feature a range of events including a specialty coffee-making competition, a coffee culture exhibition, a conference on trade promotion in the coffee industry, and other cultural activities, Vietnam News Agency reported, citing the event's organiser Dak Lak's People's Committee, as saying.

The festival, which will be held in Buon Ma Thuot city and other localities of Dak Lak, aims to promote the local coffee brand and develop Vietnam's specialty coffee, with the target to turn the city into a global coffee center, said H'Yim Kdoh, vice chairperson of the provincial People's Committee, Xinhua news agency reported.

Dak Lak has the largest farming area of around 210,000 hectares with an annual output of more than 520,000 tons. Its Buon Ma Thuot is home to some of the finest coffee in Vietnam, according to a report by Vietnam News Agency.

Coffee is Vietnam's second biggest export product after rice. In 2022, the country exported 1.68 million tons of coffee, reaping $3.9 billion, local newspaper Tuoi Tre (Youth) reported.