Vietnam Coffee Prices to Stay Stable in 2010-2011 Crop: Expert
Vietnam’s coffee prices will be stable at below VND29 million ($1,526) a ton during the 2010-2011 crop, local media reported, citing a local expert in the coffee industry.
Doan Trieu Nhan, former chairman of the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association (Vicofa) said that the prices could not soar in the imminent crop because they are managed by foreign traders.
Prices of Vietnamese coffee hit record high in two years at nearly VND31 million ($1,631) a ton in the central highlands region on Sept 30, supported by soars of the world coffee prices as a result of low inventory, said Luong Van Tu, chairman of the association.
The chairman forecast that domestic coffee prices will stand high in the coming month, adding that the world coffee prices will range from $1,700 to $1,800 a ton.
Vietnam’s coffee output is forecast to drop 10%-20% from a year earlier in the 2010-2011 crop, as 30% of coffee areas in the four central highlands provinces of Dak Lak, Gia Lai, Dak Nong and Lam Dong are low productivity.
Local farmers plan to start the new harvest crop from late Oct, or early Nov.
Earlier, many experts said that the foreign traders’ move to control Vietnamese coffee prices hits hard local coffee industry.
Nguyen Cong Hoang, deputy general director of the Vietnam National Coffee Corporation (Vinacafe) said that the industry should set up an insurance fund that will facilitate local coffee firms and farmers to stockpile beans in falling prices. (STD)
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