MILAN – Robusta futures hit new highs yesterday, Thursday 28th November, with New York closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. In London, the contract for January delivery closed up $32 at $5,565, a new record high for the 10-tonne contract. The intraday peak of $5613 was also an all-time high.
The slow start to the harvest in Vietnam continues to support the market. Like Brazilian producers, Vietnamese coffee growers are also holding out for even higher prices, local media quoted by Reuters reported on Thursday.
Meanwhile, domestic prices in the Central Highlands are on the rise, with Robustas fetching between 127,500 and 128,000 dong per kg this week, up from 114,800-115,300 last week.
Sales in Indonesia have also been on hold as buyers wait for prices to stabilise.
Indonesian authorities reported that exports from the island of Sumatra, the country’s top robusta producer, totalled 532,387 bags in October, up 100% on the same month last year.
This brings total exports for the first seven months of the 2024/25 crop year to 1,800,886, up 13% on the same period last year.
In other news, Brazil-based traders Atlantica and Cafebras sought to negotiate with creditors in court, having been hit by a surge in global Arabica prices, reports Reuters.
The two companies on Wednesday said in a statement they were seeking to restructure their debt, citing issues caused by poor crops and a high volume of rollovers and defaults.
Atlantica and Cafebras said they are owed some 900,000 bags of coffee from farmers who have yet to make good on their delivery pledges.
Meanwhile, Brazilian federal auditors have started a nationwide strike over pay, according to a post on the union’s website warning that the action would last indefinitely and include a protest in the capital Brasilia next week.
