Asia Coffee-Vietnam prices fall for second straight week, Indonesia premiums gain

HANOI/BANDAR LAMPUNG, Indonesia — Vietnam’s domestic coffee prices dropped for the second week on weak global cues, while Indonesia’s premiums stayed firm as some farmers held their beans stocks instead of selling them, traders said on Thursday.

A worker harvests arabica coffee cherries at a plantation near Pangalengan, West Java, Indonesia May 9, 2018. Photo: Reuters

Farmers in the Central Highlands, Vietnam's largest coffee-growing area, sold coffee COFVN-DAK at 31,500-32,000 dong ($1.36-$1.38), lower than last week's 33,500 dong.

The London November futures contract closed at $1,331 on Wednesday, down from $1,349 a week earlier, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.

The 2021/21 harvest has officially begun in Vietnam but traders said bean supplies would not come until mid-November.

“Farmers will start picking beans later this month and new beans will come in bulk by the end of November,” said a trader based in the coffee belt, adding that there was no change in supply, while demand and trading remained thin.

Traders in Vietnam offered 5% black and broken grade 2 robusta COFVN-G25-SAI at premiums of $100-$110 per metric ton to the November contract, compared with the $100 premium a week ago.

Coffee exports from Vietnam likely decreased an estimated 1.4% in the first nine months of this year from a year earlier to 1.25 million metric tons, equal to 20.83 million 60-kg bags, official figures showed.

While Indonesia’s exports of robusta coffee beans from Sumatra island’s Lampung province were 19,999.9 metric tons in September, according to the local government.

Premiums for Indonesia’s Sumatra robusta were offered at around $180-$190 this week for November contract, compared with the $190-$200 premiums range last week, a trader in Lampung province said.

The premiums remain firm as farmers started to keep their beans stocks instead of selling them.

“The harvest is starting to taper off, so some farmers are not selling their beans,” one trader said.

Another trader said premium for November went up to $150 this week, from $100. ($1 = 23,188 dong)