Coffee prices hit 11 month high

Vietnamese coffee price hit a near 11 month high this week in wake of the global price hike.

According to the Vietnam Industry and Trade Information Center under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam robusta coffee in the local market on July 4 rose to VND 37.7-38 million (USD 1,670-1,690) per ton, up from last week's VND 36-36.3 million.

Local coffee growers this week have also accelerated their sales as the price hike offers good returns.

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September robusta coffee futures in the New York's Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) also rose 1.3 percent to USD 1,768 per ton on July 4, the highest close since July 1, 2015.

The September contract has risen 11.3 percent so far in 2016 and is headed towards a key psychological level of USD 1,800 per ton. However, industry insiders forecast strong selling to cash in on high prices could put a brake on the London price.

According to the industry insiders, the global coffee price hike was due to concerns of low yields in the world's largest coffee producers of Brazil, Vietnam and Indonesia.

In Vietnam, according to a report from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s Foreign Agricultural Service early this month, coffee production could drop up to 7 percent in 2016 and 2017, to 27.3 million bags over the previous crop, due to adverse weather conditions. The report even forecast a 15 percent decline in coffee production in case the drought is prolonged and followed by unfavorable rains caused by La Nina.

Global consumption in the 2016-17 season is forecast to rise by 1.1 percent to a record high of 150.8 million 60-kg bags, according to the USDA.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, coffee exports of Vietnam, the world's largest robusta coffee exporter, reached an estimated 1.32 million tons in the first nine months of the 2015-16 crop year ending September, up 32 percent from a year earlier.