Sales of Vietnamese coffee have been steady in the past week as domestic prices followed global prices lower, while export volumes in April will likely drop after a surge the previous month, traders said on Tuesday. The country could ship 150,000-180,000 tonnes (2.5-3.0 million 60-kg bags) this month, down from the 220,000 tonnes estimated for March, traders said.
The March export volume from the world’s top robusta producer jumped 39.3 percent from a year ago, according to government data, as some cargoes due for loading in holiday-shortened February had been postponed, traders said. With the forecasts for April, Vietnam could ship at least 971,000 tonnes (16.2 million bags) between October 2013 and this month — the first seven months of the 2013/2014 crop year — based on government data and trader projections.
That would make up 58 percent of the 28 million bags produced in the Southeast Asian nation in the current crop year ending September, based on a Reuters poll in January. «Sales in the past week have been smooth and steady,» said a trader in Ho Chi Minh City. Coffee stocks are being held by farmers, exporters and also in Vietnam-based warehouses operated by foreign trading firms, he said.
Robusta eased in the London futures market on Monday, with the July contract edging down 0.4 percent to $2,084 a tonne due to rain forecasts in top grower Brazil. Robusta beans in Vietnam’s Central Highlands coffee belt fell to 39,800-40,000 dong ($1.89-$1.9) per kg on Tuesday, from 40,100 dong the previous day, but were still above a range of 39,500-39,600 dong a week ago.
Source: brecorder.com/agriculture-a-allied/183/1168812/