Coffee traders turn from Vietnam to RI, Brazil<\/p>\n
HANOI (Reuters): Vietnam's coffee trade came to a near
\nstandstill this week as buyers turned to Indonesia and Brazil,
\ntraders said yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"Vietnam's prices are not as attractive as Indonesia,\" said a
\ndealer from Ho Chi Minh City.<\/p>\n
\"Buyers are shifting to Indonesia and Brazil for better
\ndeals.\"<\/p>\n
Indonesia is now Asia's main coffee supplier as Vietnamese
\ncoffee stocks have dwindled. Vietnam is one of the world's top
\nexporters of robusta, used widely in the instant coffee industry.<\/p>\n
Offers for benchmark grade 2, five percent black and broken
\nwere $1,500-1,530 per ton, FOB Saigon Port, compared with $1,570-
\n1,580 last week.<\/p>\n
Local coffee prices in the main producing province of Daklak
\nfell to 18.8 million dong ($1,447) per ton yesterday from 19.5
\nmillion dong last week.<\/p>\n
London September futures ended at $1,620 on Thursday.
\n\"Exporters have lowered their offers, but only a few buyers who
\nneeded to cover their shorts showed any interest,\" said one
\ninternational trader.<\/p>\n
Coffee beans from Vietnam's current crop will come onto the
\nmarket in late October and harvesting would last until January or
\nFebruary 1999 - later than usual due to a recent prolonged
\ndrought.<\/p>\n
\"The impact on production in the next few years will be
\nserious. The majority of coffee trees destroyed by the drought
\nwere young and yet to produce beans,\" a senior official at the
\nVietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association said.<\/p>\n
Yields were predicted to drop between 14 and 33 percent over
\nlast year. The 1997\/98 harvest yielded 320,000 to 340,000 tonnes,
\nofficial figures showed.<\/p>\n
Certificates of origin for 296,000 tonnes of Vietnamese coffee
\nhave been granted since the 1997\/98 crop began last October, he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
Figures released by the General Statistics Office estimated
\nthe country would export 204,000 tonnes of coffee in the first
\nsix months of this year, down 15.7 percent compared with the same
\nperiod last year.<\/p>\n
The office said 174,000 tonnes were exported between January
\nand May.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/coffee-traders-turn-from-vietnam-to-ri-brazil-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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