More coffee deals may be on brewing

More coffee deals may be on brewing

SINGAPORE (Reuters): Indonesian farmers have started to offer more coffee beans as their harvest begins to peak and more deals could be struck in coming weeks, traders said yesterday.

In Vietnam, another main Asian coffee supplier, traders said there were still between 20,000 and 30,000 tons of beans for export, but activities had slowed and the market would stay quiet until after October, when the next harvesting kicks in.

"Farmers in Indonesia now are more willing to sell than a week ago as more beans are coming out," said one Singapore-based trader.

The crop, expected to reach 330,000 tons this year, has been coming smoothly but recent rains in Indonesia slightly delayed some deliveries.

"The coffee flow is smaller and slower than we had expected this year, but overall it's all right and we are seeing steady sales from the Indonesians," the trader said.

Between 500 and 1,000 tons arrive daily at Indonesia's major trading center of Bandar Lampung, seen by traders as "normal and steady" flows, and small lots of Indonesian supplies were heard done in the past week.

"We will see more activities next week," said one trader at a European trading house.

Price falls in the West continued to depress levels in Asia, traders said.

"As London prices are soft, local prices in Indonesia and Vietnam are also coming down," said a Bangkok-based trader.

In London on Tuesday, benchmark September ended at $1,544, compared with $1,594 a week ago.

Traders said a shortage of containers, a result of soaring exports from Asia and slumping imports, might worsen as Indonesia's harvest peaks later this month.

The harvest is expected to last through September.

"We have slight container problems now but it's not serious. It will become more difficult to get containers in coming weeks," the trader said.

Indonesian supplies were offered at around $130/$160 per ton under London levels, compared with $150/$200 a week ago.

Vietnam's benchmark grade 2, five percent black and broken beans were seen by the trade at $90/$130 under, against $110/$140 a week ago.