HANOI: Vietnam’s domestic coffee prices stayed little changed on Thursday from a week earlier, as the country’s harvest came to an end, traders said on Thursday.

Farmers in the Central Highlands, Vietnam’s coffee-growing capital, sold coffee at 31,500-31,700 dong ($1.37) per kilogram, compared with a range of 31,200-32,000 dong a week ago.

The 2020-21 harvest that started in October has ended, and traders said they expected output to have fallen by 16%-17% to around 25 million 60-kg bags.

“Output has fallen because of dry whether ahead of the harvest and a persistently low coffee price has discouraged farmers from investing in fertilising and watering their farms,” said a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City.

Farmers had sold around 40% of their harvested beans, but were now holding back sales due to unattractive prices, traders said.

Traders in Vietnam offered 5% black and broken grade 2 robusta at premiums of $70-$80 per tonne to the May contract. The premiums were $80-$90 to the March contract last week.

A shortage of shipping containers since last month has sent freight rates soaring and has also hindered exporters from shipping beans.

Meanwhile, in Indonesia’s Lampung province coffee prices remain unchanged with Sumatran robusta beans being offered with a $250 premium to the March contract and a $290 premium to the April contract, traders said.

“Supply is very thin because there is no harvest yet,” one of the traders said, adding that only a few trading houses in Lampung had decent stock remaining.

The main robusta harvest in the southern region of Sumatra island typically falls around mid-year, but small harvests often takes place a few months earlier.