Vietnamese farmers hold onto beans due to low prices

By Khanh Vu and Mas Alina Arifin

HANOI/BANDAR LAMPUNG (Reuters) - Vietnamese farmers held back from selling coffee beans this week due to low prices after harvest ended last month, while trading in Indonesia remained muted due to a lack of supply.

Farmers in the Central Highlands, Vietnam's largest coffee growing area, sold their beans at 32,400 dong-33,300 dong ($1.40-$1.43) per kg on Thursday, compared with 32,200 dong-33,400 dong a week ago, a trader based in the province of Dak Lak said.

Traders in Vietnam offered 5 percent black and broken grade 2 robusta at a $50 per tonne discount to the May contract, unchanged from last week.

Meanwhile, weather was good and farmers had sufficient water supply for trees in the Central Highlands. Some trees in the area have begun to blossom, the trader said.

In Indonesia, trade activities remained subdued as traders awaited the next harvest.

One trader in the Lampung province of Sumatra island said the grade 4 defect 80 robusta was priced at a $70-$80 premium to the May contract, up from a $50-$60 premium last week.

Demand rose this week, but "no supply since we are not yet in harvest time", the trader said.

Another trader said they did not set any price this week due to a lack of stocks.

Some areas in the southern region of Sumatra, Indonesia's robusta producing centre, are expected to have a mini harvest around April.

($1 = 23,211 dong)

(Writing by Fransiska Nangoy in JAKARTA; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)