Lao coffee is arriving on the world stage. From 7 to 9 May 2026, producers from Dakcheung District in Sekong Province will showcase their specialty beans at the World of Coffee Forum at BITEC in Bangkok, the region's premier coffee trade forum, marking the most visible international push for a sector that has quietly become one of the country's most promising agricultural exports.

The Bangkok showcase comes just months after another landmark: the official launch of the Dakcheung Highland Coffee Cooperative on 6 February 2026, a turning point in connecting hundreds of small-scale farmers to national and international markets. Both developments are the work of the EU funded SWITCH-Asia SuPER WE Coffee project,  formally, the Sustainable Production and Ethic Responsible & Women Empowered Coffee Value Chains in Lao PDR — an initiative implemented by CARE International in Lao PDR across 15 villages in the remote highlands of Sekong Province.

Why Coffee is so important in Lao PDR

Coffee has long been a pillar of southern Laos' rural economy, and the numbers explain why development partners are paying attention. The country is currently the third-largest coffee producer in Southeast Asia, and global demand for specialty-grade beans continues to rise sharply. However, for many smallholders in Dakcheung, that opportunity has remained frustratingly out of reach.

Many farmers still face challenges related to production quality, processing systems, technical knowledge, climate impacts, and access to competitive markets, the SuPER WE Coffee project team notes. Women producers face additional barriers, including limited leadership roles, restricted economic participation, and structural exclusion from decision-making within the coffee sector.

Building the Chain From the Ground Up

Since its inception, the EU SWITCH-Asia SuPER WE Coffee project has worked to close those gaps one link at a time. It has trained 400 coffee producers and operators from 17 processing centres across the district, covering sustainable production practices, quality improvement, post-harvest processing techniques, traceability systems, and green value-chain approaches.

On the equipment side, the project has supplied a colour sorter machine, screen-size grading equipment, a green bean temperature meter, a coffee roaster, a scale for roasting, a sealing machine, and a coffee grinder, a full toolkit for producers aiming to meet the exacting standards of the specialty market.

Farmers have also been trained in harvesting discipline, specifically the selective picking of ripe red coffee cherries, a practice central to achieving the cup quality that specialty buyers demand. The project has simultaneously developed sustainable production plans, conducted Training of Trainers sessions, and strengthened the governance of local producer groups.

The cooperative, launched in February, is designed to give those producers collective bargaining power and shared infrastructure. It already has buyers: Kafepa, Yrou Coffee, and other Lao coffee businesses are purchasing from farms supported under the project.

Putting Women at the Centre

Women's empowerment is not a footnote to the project; it is embedded in its name and structure. Through dedicated leadership and entrepreneurship activities, the initiative has worked to build women producers' confidence and competence for decision-making roles within the coffee value chain. The aim is to move women from periphery to leadership: as cooperative members, processors, quality controllers, and business owners. This is integral to Laos' broader national priorities around inclusive economic development and poverty reduction in rural communities.

Heading to World of Coffee Bangkok Forum

The Bangkok showcase is the project's most ambitious market access effort to date. At the Lao coffee booths, visitors will find specialty products, materials on sustainable production methods, and information on the project's community impact, a pitch aimed squarely at international buyers, importers, and coffee professionals who attend World of Coffee in search of the next origin.

The project has previously participated in coffee promotion events and trade fairs at district, provincial, national, and international levels; however, the World of Coffee Bangkok Forum represents a qualitative step up in ambition. For the farmers and cooperative members of Dakcheung, it is a chance to make a name that travels well beyond the highlands of Sekong Province.

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