HANOI/BANDAR LAMPUNG: Coffee trading in Vietnam was sluggish this week due to low stockpiles and prices ticking up, traders said on Thursday, while supplies remained abundant in Indonesia.

Farmers in the Central Highlands, Vietnam's largest coffee-growing area, sold coffee at 34,000-34,500 dong ($1.47-$1.49) per kg, up from the 33,500-34,000 dong range a week earlier.

"Market has remained tepid for the past months as farmers have already sold almost all their beans," said a trader based in the coffee belt.

"If there is no significant change in the global prices, domestic prices will be at around 34,000 dong per kg until the new harvest begins in October."

November robusta coffee settled up $5, or 0.35%, at $1,41 per tonne on Wednesday.

The 2020/21 harvest season in Vietnam will officially start next month, but traders said beans would not come in bulk until late November.

"The weather is favourable for beans but this year's crop output will be 10% lower than the previous one," another trader also based in the region said.

Traders in Vietnam offered 5% black and broken grade 2 robusta at a premium of $70-80 per tonne to the November contract, compared with the $90-100 range premiums last week.

In Indonesia's Lampung province, Sumatran robusta beans premiums were unchanged at $20-$50 to the November contract one exporter said, while another said premiums narrowed to $150 from around $200 last week.

Prices dropped as supply remained high, traders said, as they expect harvest rival Vietnam to start by November.