MILAN – Vietnam shipped 111,606 tons of coffee, or 1,860,100 bags worth $235.44 million during the first half of April (1-15) 2014, according to preliminary data released by the Vietnam Customs on Monday.
According to the same source, the country’s coffee exports for the month of March were 51.4% higher than the same month last year, totalling 4,638,333 bags. This brings the total for the first six month of the present coffee year to 11,963,333 bags
Vietnam’s coffee export market is expected to pick up in the next few days as many buying nations return from Easter holidays, traders said on Tuesday.
Discounts of Vietnamese robusta grade 2, 5 percent black and broken beans widened this week to $80 a tonne to London’s July contract, from $70 a tonne a week ago.
The contract closed up 2.6 percent at $2,136 a tonne last Thursday, before Liffe was closed for the Good Friday holiday. Trading on Liffe will resume later on Tuesday.
Robusta beans stood at 40,800-40,900 dong ($1.94) per kg on Tuesday in Daklak, Vietnam’s largest coffee growing province. The bitter beans used mostly for making instant coffee stood at 41,000-41,500 dong per kg one week ago.
Traders said domestic sales may pick up again next month, when the rainy season returns and farmers could need cash to buy fertiliser for coffee trees.
