Asia Coffee: Vietnam prices little changed from last week; brisk trade in Indonesia

HANOI/BANDAR LAMPUNG -- Coffee prices in Vietnam remained little changed on Thursday from a week ago with supplies from farmers running low, while brisk trading activity was seen in Indonesia where a major harvest was peaking.

Workers sort arabica green coffee beans at a coffee mill in Pangalengan, West Java, Indonesia May 8, 2018. Photo: Reuters

Farmers in the Central Highlands, Vietnam’s largest coffee growing area, sold coffee at 33,000-34,000 dong ($1.42-$1.46) per kg on Thursday, compared with 33,400-33,700 dong a week earlier.

“Farmers have sold around 95% of their 2018/19 output and are not willing to sell the remaining 5% at the current prices,” a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said.

Another trader based in the Central Highlands said some of the farmers won’t sell below 35,000 dong per kg.

Traders in Vietnam offered 5% black and broken grade 2 robusta at a $100 per tonne premium to the September contract, compared with a $60-$90 premium a week ago.

September robusta coffee settled unchanged from the previous session at $1,372 per tonne on Wednesday, after falling from a recent peak of $1,504 on June 4.

“Shipments from Vietnam will likely fall significantly until the next harvest that will begin in October,” the first trader said, adding that the decline in global prices have also kept exporters from clinching new deals.

Meanwhile, in Indonesia, grade 4 defect 80 robusta beans were being offered with $150 to $180 premium to September contract this week, said a trader in Sumatran province of Lampung.

The premium was $170-$200 to July contract last week.

“Supply is increasing and we are expecting the harvest to last until August,” said another trader in Lampung.