* Vietnam’s discounts tighten to $35-$50/T
* Indonesia’s discounts at $5-$10/T on high supply
By My Pham
HANOI, March 23 (Reuters) – Vietnam’s coffee export market was quiet this week with prices tightening on limited supply of high-quality beans, while Indonesia saw brisk trade due to higher supplies at the onset of the harvest season, traders said on Thursday.
Prices in Daklak, Vietnam’s largest coffee bean-growing province, dropped to 46,700 dong-47,300 dong ($2.05-$2.08) per kg COFVN-DAK , from 47,300 dong-48,000 dong a week ago, in line with a decline in London’s ICE May contract LRCK7 .
The May contract has fallen a combined 1.5 percent in the last two sessions.
“There was mostly domestic trade while export activity was slow,” said independent analyst Nguyen Quang Binh, adding that foreign importers were reluctant to buy as they have abundant stocks.
Some traders have now switched to quoting coffee prices under London’s ICE July contract LRCN7 .
Torrential and prolonged rains in Vietnam last December also hurt the supply and quality of beans during the drying progress. Vietnam’s coffee export volume this year may drop 20-30 percent annually, an industry official said. 5-pct black and broken grade 2 robusta COFVN-G25-SAI was quoted at $35-$50 a tonne below the May contract, tightening from $30-$50 a tonne last week. COFFEE/ASIA1
Vietnam on Wednesday said India has lifted its temporary ban on import of six commodities from Vietnam including coffee and pepper. Indonesia, a major competitor to Vietnam, traders quoted robusta grade 4, 80 defects COFID-G4-USD at a discount of $5-$10 percent a tonne to the May contract, from a premium of $20-$30 a week earlier, due to high supply.
“Trade is starting to get busy again, especially this Monday. Supply of coffee is plentiful. There were about 100 vehicles that drove in to deliver coffee to the warehouse,” a trader from Bandar Lampung said.
* This story now incorporates the previous weekly Vietnam Coffee report COF/VN . For any feedback on this change, please contact matthew.tostevin@tr.com.
($1 = 22,790 dong)
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