Vietnam’s coffee output is set to reach record levels, a survey reveals.
Vietnamese coffee farmers may harvest a bumper crop of as much as 1.8 million tonnes next season, according to the median of nine trader and analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg, recovering from a slightly decrease to 1.6 million bags in the current crop season.
Good flowering and setting are spurring farmer hopes for an “on year”, after disappointing outturn in 2014/15.
While supplies are predicted to increase next season, farmers are holding back sales in anticipation of higher prices, according to the survey.
People in the market say that in recent weeks speculators – ranging from traders in fertiliser and petrol to government employees with idle funds – have been stocking up on beans whenever prices dip below psychologically key levels.
The hoarding may cut Vietnam’s international robusta shipments in March for the second consecutive month, worsening a wider shortage, reports Reuters.
In October-February, exports fell 11 percent from a year earlier to 8.94 million bags. Even if March exports match February loading, shipments in October-March would still be around a quarter less than a year prior.
