Coffee prices fall as RI unrest ends<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (Reuters): Coffee prices fell in Asia as recent
\nsupply worries eased due to fresh rains in Vietnam and an
\napparent end to civil strife in Indonesia, traders said
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
As a result buyers were relaxed, only picking up bargains as
\nthey waited for sellers to further cut prices, which have already
\nfallen by about $50 per ton from a week ago.<\/p>\n
\"Everything looks okay, production-wise. But I am not sure
\nabout the supply chain in Indonesia,\" a trader with a Singapore
\ntrading house said.<\/p>\n
He said so far there are no signs to indicate there are
\nproblems but added that the distribution network will only be
\ntested fully sometime in mid-June when exports begin in earnest.<\/p>\n
\"There are some shortages of containers but otherwise there
\nare no big problems,\" another trader said.<\/p>\n
With most traders back in their offices in the northern
\nSumatra commodity trading town of Medan, offers are slowly
\ntrickling out for small volumes.<\/p>\n
\"Things should really go into full swing from mid-June
\nonwards. Hopefully by then there will be some order,\" a trader
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian commodity markets were thrown into turmoil this
\nmonth when protests demanding the resignation of then President
\nSoeharto led to riots, sending many ethnic Chinese fleeing. Calm
\nhas since returned to the capital, Jakarta, the heart of the
\nviolence, and those who left have been returning.<\/p>\n
Traders said Grade 4, 80 defects were quoted at about $1,700
\nper ton or about $100 below July London futures' prices.
\nIn London on Tuesday, benchmark July closed $45 lower at $1,830 a
\nton as Indonesian coffee returned to the markets and rains fell
\non the parched coffee plantations in Vietnam.<\/p>\n
The rainfall in the main coffee growing area of Daklak,
\nVietnam, has eased earlier fears of a sharp drop in crop harvest.<\/p>\n
Traders said the Vietnamese dropped their offers to around
\n$1,800 on free-on-board Saigon basis for Grade 2, 5.0 black and
\nbroken.<\/p>\n
This, they said, implied that the prices have dropped to a
\ndiscount of between $20-40 per ton below July futures' prices but
\nat a premium of about $10-30 over September as some deals were
\nsealed based on September prices.<\/p>\n
Thai coffee exports for this year are expected to fall to
\nabout 55,000 tonnes compared to 69,000 tonnes last year due to a
\nsmaller crop, a Bangkok-based trader said.<\/p>\n
Domestic consumption, he said, has fallen by 5,000 tonnes to
\n20,000 tonnes.<\/p>\n
Most Thai sellers have sold out their beans for this season
\nand would be back in the market in December.<\/p>\n
Differentials of key Asian coffee origins, basis the July
\nrobusta futures contract in London:<\/p>\n
Traders in Tokyo said, however, yesterday Japan, the world's
\nthird-largest coffee consumer, might have to buy more coffee from
\nVietnam and Brazil as shipments from Indonesia were likely to be
\ndelayed further.<\/p>\n
\"We may have to buy more coffee from Vietnam since we expect
\nIndonesian shipments to be delayed by up to one month,\" a trader
\nat a major trading house said.<\/p>\n
He said he was even considering buying robusta coffee from
\nBrazil's coming crop, which will be available from June.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, Japanese traders flocked to buy robusta
\ncoffee from Vietnam amid fears of delays in coffee shipments from
\nIndonesia due to political turmoil there.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/coffee-prices-fall-as-ri-unrest-ends-1447893297",
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