Asia coffee: Sluggish trade in Vietnam, Indonesian premium narrows

HANOI: Trade in Vietnam’s coffee market remained sluggish on Thursday, as traders held back from buying after domestic bean prices briefly surged to a multi-month peak earlier this week, with tight supplies at the end of the harvest season. Farmers in the Central Highlands, Vietnam’s coffee belt, sold beans at 91,800 dong to 92,300 dong (USD3.49 to USD3.51) per kg, compared with last week’s 91,600 dong to 92,000 dong range. Prices retreated from a multi-month high of around 97,000 dong per kg reached earlier this week.

“However, traders were reluctant to transact at that level, preferring to wait and see whether prices would remain elevated for a few more sessions before committing to purchases at such high prices,” said a trader based in the coffee belt.

“As a result, trading activity remained subdued this week,” the trader added. September robusta coffee futures settled down USD131, or 3percent, at USD3,741 per metric ton on Wednesday, after reaching USD4,044 on July 6, their highest level since February.

Traders offered 5percent black and broken-grade 2 robusta at a discount of USD180 to USD200 per ton to the September LIFFE contract.

Vietnam exported 1.1 million tons of coffee in the first half of 2026, up 7.3percent from the same period a year earlier, government data showed. Coffee export revenues over the period fell 13.8percent to USD4.8 billion. In June alone, the country exported 126,000 tons, worth USD586 million.

In Indonesia, exports of Sumatra robusta coffee beans fell 22.18percent year-on-year to 18,072.4 metric tons in May, according to official data.

Indonesia’s Sumatra robusta beans were offered at USD50 premium to the September contract this week, a trader said, narrowing from an USD80 premium last week.

Another trader quoted a USD10 premium to the July/August contract, compared with a USD40 premium last week. Traders said the premium narrowed due to strengthening supplies amid an ongoing harvest in Indonesia, with weather conditions staying favourable for the cherries.