Robusta coffee from Viet Nam, the biggest grower of the beans, are still trading at a discount to Liffe futures, curbing sales, according to Volcafe Ltd.

Vietnamese robusta for shipment in September and October was $20 a metric ton below Liffe last week, compared with a $40 discount the week before, the unit of commodities trader ED&F Man Holdings Ltd. said in an e-mailed report dated Sept. 12. Liffe futures declined 3.9 percent last week, the first weekly decrease in five weeks.

A man walks past a Trung Nguyen Corp. coffee store in Ha Noi on Saturday, May 31, 2014

“The drop in Liffe prevented physical coffee sales,” Volcafe said. “Local exporters have no cheap stock anymore. Demand shows signs of increasing. September is traditionally very wet, and while we see less rain for the remainder of the month, rainfall is already 30 percent above average.”

In Indonesia, coffee for shipment in September and October was $70 a ton higher than futures, unchanged from the week before, according to Volcafe. Dry, hot weather combined with showers are supporting flowering, the trader said.

“Good flowering is reported everywhere and better production is expected next year,” it said. Indonesia’s robusta output will be 7.5 million bags in 2014-15, down from 10.5 million bags a year earlier, Volcafe said.

In Uganda, the new crop may be delayed as “cherries are not mature enough yet and continued rains slow down the ripening,” Volcafe said.

(Source: Thanhniennews)