In November, the export volume and value were nearly double that of the previous month, the ministry said. Coffee exports volume in the past 11 months reached 1.04 million tonnes with a value of US$1.54 billion, it added. Although the volume of expected coffee was 19.3 percent higher than in the same period last year, the value dropped by 14.7 percent. “The global recession has strongly affected coffee prices. This year’s average price is only US$1,478 per tonnes, US$615 per tonne lower than last year’s”. Belgium has recently become the biggest market for Vietnamese coffee, with its imports increasing by three-fold and export value two-fold.