Indonesian Coffee Deliveries Rise as Growers Harvest 85% of Crop

17/09/2012
 
Indonesian Coffee Deliveries Rise as Growers Harvest 85% of Crop
BLOOMBERG (USA)
 
Coffee deliveries from farms in Indonesia, the world’s third biggest robusta producer, increased this week as growers there have harvested about 85 percent of this year’s crop, according to Volcafe Ltd.

Coffee arrivals were about 6,500 to 7,500 metric tons, up from 5,000 to 5,500 tons a week earlier, Volcafe, the coffee unit of commodities trader ED&F Man Holdings Ltd., said in a report e-mailed today. While harvesting is finished in lowlands, bean gathering in the highlands is 70 percent to 75 percent done, according to the Winterthur, Switzerland-based trader.

“Good volumes of robusta were traded and shipped from Sumatra, more than twice the flow of this time last year,” Volcafe said. Southern Sumatra is the main coffee growing area.

Buyers of coffee from Indonesia for October and November shipments are paying a premium of $40 a ton to the price on the NYSE Liffe in London, unchanged from last week, it said.

The coffee harvest in Vietnam, the biggest robusta grower, may be delayed because of recent wet weather, the trader said. The season there usually starts in October.

“Today we see persistent rainfall in the Central Highlands, this pushes thoughts for harvest further into late November,” Volcafe said. “We expect the harvest will be gradual, with smaller cherries, not quite reaching the plump potential observed last year.”

Buyers of Vietnamese beans for shipment in October and November are paying a premium of $20 a ton to the exchange price, down from $40 a ton last week, Volcafe data showed.

“Some nearby demand is popping up here and there,” the trader said, adding that buyers were seeking price information for beans from the new crop.

Robusta coffee for November delivery rose 1 percent to $2,102 a metric ton by 12:50 p.m. in London.