HANOI/BANDAR (LAMPUNG): Prices in major Asian robusta beans suppliers, Vietnam and Indonesia, fell this week following a drop in London prices, traders said on Thursday.

Farmers in the Central Highlands, Vietnam’s largest coffee-growing area, sold coffee at 41,800-42,300 dong per kilogram ($1.79-$1.81), down from last week’s 42,400-44,000 dong range. The London ICE September contract had shed 3.8% over the past week, as of Wednesday’s close, hitting a six-month low at $1,955 per tonne, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.

“Most commodities prices are falling this week, coffee is not an exception,” a Central Highlands-based trader said. Another trader also based in the region said trading activities had come to a halt as there were almost no beans left from the current crop season.

“There were still bids and asks, but no actual trade. People are just comparing prices.” Traders in Vietnam offered 5% black and broken-grade 2 robusta at a discount range of $130-$150 per tonne to the September contract, compared with last week’s $150-$160 discount range.

Vietnam’s coffee exports in June were down 3.5% from May at 137,403 tonnes, government customs data released on Thursday showed. For the first half of 2021, Vietnam exported 1.02 million tonnes of coffee, up 20.7% from a year earlier. In Indonesia’s Lampung province, one trader offered $90-$100 discount to the September contract for Sumatran robusta beans this week, narrow from last week’s $140-$150 discount.

Another trader offered $170 discount to the September contract this week, compared with $220 discount last week. “Discounts were lower this week because the benchmark price dropped. Besides that, the incoming coffee beans volume was also getting tighter,” one of the traders said.

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