Asia Coffee-Vietnam market quiet as beans scarce, Indonesia supply rises

HANOI: Trade in Vietnam's coffee market ground to a virtual halt on a lack of beans, while domestic prices in Indonesia remained stable this week although supplies continued to rise, traders said on Thursday.

Farmers in the Central Highlands, Vietnam's largest coffee-growing area, sold coffee at 33,500 dong to 35,000 dong ($2.46-$1.53) per kg, compared with the 34,200 dong to 35,300 dong range last week.

"There's almost no coffee left at the moment, so it's hard to sign new export contracts for delivery during this time," said a trader based in the Central Highlands.

Traders in Vietnam offered 5% black and broken-grade 2 robusta at discounts of $20 to $30 per tonne to the September contract, compared with last week's discount of $40.

London prices settled down $13, or 1%, at $1,608 per tonne on Wednesday.

In Indonesia's Lampung province, the supply of new Sumatran robusta beans was abundant this week but prices remain unchanged from a week ago due to competition with local buyers, traders said.

One trader offered a $60 premium to the September contract, while another offered a $100 to $110 premium to the August through March contracts, both unchanged from last week.

"This (unchanged premium) was because local coffee makers are hiking their buying prices," one of the traders said, adding that an estimated 10,000 tonnes to 15,000 tonnes of new beans supply arrived this week.