Thin Trade Ahead of New Harvest in Vietnam, Indonesian Premiums Down

COFFEE - HANOI/BANDAR LAMPUNG. Trading activity in Vietnam, the world's biggest robusta producer, remained tepid as its harvest season is expected to commence by mid-November, traders said on Thursday, while premiums dropped in Indonesia.

In theory, new crop in Vietnam starts from October but beans will not come in bulk until November, traders said.

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Farmers in the central highlands, Vietnam's largest coffee-growing area, were selling beans for 59,600-61,400 dong ($2.42-$2.50) per kg, down from last week's 63,000-63,800 dong.

"Beans, although very few, have started to come so the domestic prices were down a little," said a trader based in the coffee belt. "The output should be somewhat the same as the previous one."

Another trader said rains were reported in some parts of the coffee growing area, "which is not welcome news as rains may hurt the quality of the beans."

January robusta coffee settled down $26, or 1%, at $2,467, as of Wednesday's close.

Indonesia's Sumatra robusta coffee beans were offered at $480 premium to the January contract this week, a $100 drop compared to previous week, to adjust with the London price, one trader said.

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"Last week, the London prices rose significantly. At the moment, global coffee supply is not sufficient," the trader said.

Another trader said prices were down $40-$60 from last week to $500-$520 premium this week to the December contract.