Coffee trading in Vietnam remained frozen even as the government eased a 15-day lockdown for some parts of the Southeast Asian country, while fresh beans had started to come in Indonesia, traders said on Thursday.
Late on Wednesday, Vietnam's government extended a two-week period of social distancing for 12 provinces in the country, but lifted those measures for most rural areas, including the coffee belt of Central Highlands.
"Although restrictions have been eased here, elsewhere such as Ho Chi Minh City, where the main port is and other big cities in the world, lockdown is still in force and is preventing trading activities from resumption," a Central Highlands based trader said.
"All of us traders and farmers want trade to resume but the virus is still spreading globally and is disrupting beans shipments," he added. Vietnam, the world's top robusta producer, exported 169,981 tonnes or 2.8 million 60-kg bags of coffee, in March, down 2.2% from February, customs data showed.
July robusta coffee settled up $14, or 1%, at $1,206 per tonne on Wednesday. Meanwhile, a trader in Indonesia's Lampung province on Sumatra island said robusta beans are being offered with around $250 premium to July contract, unchanged from last week.
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