Vietnam's coffee output to drop this crop
Vietnam is estimated to see coffee output of 600,000-630,000 tons in the 2005-2006 crop ending in September, down from 750,000 tons in the previous crop due to unfavorable weather, according to a local trade information agency on Monday.
Vietnam's main coffee-growing areas were hit by either prolonged droughts or floods, which will result in smaller output and export volume this year, the Trade Information Center under the Trade Ministry said, noting that the country is likely to benefit from a 10-percent increase in export coffee price in 2006.
Export prices of Vietnamese robusta coffee delivered at the country's southern Saigon port currently stand at more than 1,210 U.S. dollars per tons, up 6.1 percent against early this month.
The world's coffee reserves are declining, while foreign coffee traders are slowing down their sales to wait for higher prices, the center said.
Vietnam, the world's second bigger coffee exporter, shipped abroad 885,000 tons of coffee worth 725 million dollars in 2005, down 9.2 percent in volume, but up 13.1 percent in value against 2004, according to the country's General Statistics Office.
Xinhuanet - January 23, 2006.
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