Tchibo and later Eduscho began to make forays into cross-selling, by offering coffee as well as non-food items. These changes can also be attributed to the effects of the coffee crisis on West Germany. Influence on coffee production in Vietnam The relationship between East Germany and Vietnam was exceptionally close. Coffee production began in Vietnam in 1926 during French colonial rule. Beginning in 1975, largely parallel with the coffee crisis in East Germany, the production of Robusta coffee began in Vietnam. Robusta plants grow faster, contain more caffeine, suit the climate of the Vietnamese Central Highlands, and lend themselves better to mechanized harvesting. However, Robusta coffee is cheaper and of lower quality than the gold standard Arabica. In 1980 and 1986, two treaties were signed between East Germany and Vietnam, whereby East Germany provided the necessary equipment and machinery for production, increased the area of coffee plantations from , and trained the local population in cultivation techniques. In particular, East Germany provided trucks, machinery, and irrigation systems for the newly founded Kombinat Việt-Đức, as well as spending approximately $20 million on a hydropower plant. East Germany also built housing, hospitals, and shops for the 10,000 people who were relocated to the area for coffee production. Against this investment, East Germany was scheduled to receive half of the coffee harvest for the next 20 years. However, coffee takes eight years from planting until the first usable harvest, which occurred in 1990; at which point the East German state had already ceased to exist. Despite the loss of its original customer, Vietnam was able to quickly establish themselves after 1990 as the second-largest coffee producer in the world after Brazil, driving much of the traditional coffee production in Africa out of the market. Export production was particularly boosted by the re-establishment of trade relations between the U.S. and Vietnam. This overproduction led to a crash in worldwide coffee prices in 2001. In 2016, Germany remains the largest export destination for Vietnamese coffee. See also Economy of the German Democratic Republic References History of coffee 1977 in East Germany Pages translated from German Wikipedia Economy of East Germany