Why Does Cambodia Import So Much Coffee If It Can Grow Its Own?

Cambodia can grow coffee. It already does. So why do cafés and roasters still rely heavily on imported beans?

The short answer is that being able to grow coffee is not the same as being able to supply a modern coffee market at scale.

Local production is still small

Cambodia’s coffee sector is concentrated mainly in upland areas such as Mondulkiri. Production has expanded, but it remains small relative to national consumption.

A 2026 Phnom Penh Post report estimated that Cambodia consumes around 20,000 tonnes of coffee annually while domestic production provides only around 1,000 tonnes. Even if the exact figures move from year to year, the structural imbalance is clear: demand is much larger than supply.

That means imports are not optional. They are the mechanism that keeps cafés, hotels, restaurants and roasters supplied throughout the year.

Vietnam solves the volume problem

Cambodia shares a border with Vietnam, the world’s largest Robusta producer. World Bank trade data show Vietnam as Cambodia’s largest supplier of unroasted, non-decaffeinated coffee in 2024.

For Cambodian buyers, this has obvious advantages. Vietnamese exporters can offer large volumes, standardized grades, established logistics and predictable delivery schedules.

A small Cambodian farmer network cannot yet compete with that infrastructure on volume.

Coffee buyers buy predictability

A roaster does not simply ask, “Is this coffee good?” It also asks whether it can buy it again, whether moisture remains within specification, whether the cup profile is repeatable, and whether the supplier can meet commercial deadlines.

In Mondulkiri, recent investment has begun addressing these bottlenecks. SNV reported support for farmer training, a seedling nursery, a processing facility and a growing local sourcing network.

Imports and local coffee can coexist

The goal does not have to be eliminating imports completely. Commodity-grade imported coffee can continue serving price-sensitive channels, while Cambodian coffee develops as a differentiated local origin.

Trying to replace every imported bean would require a massive increase in acreage and production. Building a premium Cambodian category requires much less volume—but much more discipline.

The strategic question is not import versus local

If local coffee competes only on price against industrial-scale Vietnamese Robusta, Cambodia begins with a disadvantage. If it competes on origin identity, farmer relationships, selective harvest, processing quality and transparent sourcing, small scale can become a strength.

Cambodia imports coffee because its market is already larger than its farms. The next stage is not simply to produce more. It is to produce coffee that buyers specifically want to identify as Cambodian.