DJ Vietnam's 2011-12 Coffee Output May Rise 10%, Weigh On Prices

DJ Vietnam's 2011-12 Coffee Output May Rise 10%, Weigh On Prices

Coffee output in top robusta producer Vietnam may
exceed 20 million 60-kilogram bags in the 2011-12 crop year, rising as much as
10%, mostly due to favourable weather conditions and better farming practices,
trading executives said Thursday.
A better crop in Vietnam may ease global robusta prices, which hit a
three-year high in March on expectations of a global deficit this year as
demand outpaces supply.
The coffee crop year runs from October to September.
Global coffee bean output in 2010-11 is estimated at 133 million bags, up
8.1%, while demand is expected to rise to 134 million bags, up 2.4%,
International Coffee Organisation said in a monthly coffee market report last
month.
Rains arrived in April at Daklak, a major coffee growing province, compared
with June last year, and will likely aid crop flowering, said a trading
executive in Ho Chi Minh City.
Farmers are adopting yield-enhancing measures to take advantage of high
prices, said a second trading executive in Ho Chi Minh City.
Domestic prices are hovering near record highs at VND51,400/kg as very little
coffee is available amid firm demand from roasters, said a trading executive
based in Daklak. "Whatever's available is mostly with wealthier farmers and is
estimated to be less than 10% of the current harvest."
Exports are likely to dip in the next few months, but domestic prices may
ease once the new crop hits the market, the executives said.
Vietnam exported 1.83 million bags of coffee in May, down 12.7% from a month
ago, the General Statistics Office said Wednesday.