Singapore, July 24 - Coffee roasters in Europe were seeking robusta beans from Vietnam but local farmers could only offer a small quantity with the next crop still a few months away, dealers said on Thursday.
Vietnamese grade two beans were offered by some exporters at a discount of between $130 and $150 a tonne to London September coffee compared with $210 last week, reflecting tight supplies in the world's largest producer of robusta beans.
The harvest is at the tail end in Indonesia, the world's second-largest producer, and dealers expected sales to pick up ahead of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in September, which culminates with the Eid al-Fitr celebration. Indonesia is also the world's most populous Muslim nation.
"There's been a lot of demand for Vietnam coffee in the last couple of days but there's very little supply. We are in between crops, that's why there's not much Vietnam coffee available now," said a dealer in Singapore.
"Indonesia has been the cheaper of the two and their beans can be $20 to $30 lower than the Vietnamese grades. In the last few days you could actually buy Indonesian beans at $180 under London," he said.
Robusta from Vietnam and Indonesia compete in the international market. Roasters in Europe have started to show more interest in Indonesian coffee because of greater availability, despite some local dealers in Vietnam offering beans at $180-$190 below London.
London's September coffee futures contract added $24 to $2,335 a tonne in a technical rebound on Thursday, having settled $63 lower on a rising U.S. dollar.
Dealers said robustas, mainly used in making instant coffee, were underpinned by concerns about supply tightness ahead of the next Vietnamese harvest.
Dealers in Vietnam have forecast a bumper crop, thanks to ample water supply and higher prices this year, with 2008/2009 output expected to reach between 20.8 million and 22 million bags. The next harvest is due to start in October.
In Indonesia's main coffee growing island of Sumatra, nearly 80 percent of the crop has been harvested, but some farmers are holding back stocks and waiting for further rises in London.
"It looks like some farmers are not in a hurry to sell, but if there are buyers who offer to buy at $180 under London, you can easily find sellers," a dealer in Bandar Lampung, the provincial capital of Lampung.
"There will be more beans in August-September because farmers will definitely need cash for the festive season," he said.
Robusta beans make up about 85 percent of Indonesia's coffee output, estimated at 450,000 tonnes this year, while the rest is higher-value, aromatic arabica beans.
"We still have a little bit of selling from Indonesia but it's not going to be aggressive anymore. I think from now on until September, you will perhaps see a firmer differential for a number of reasons," said the dealer in Singapore.
"Vietnam does not have any beans available or not much, and Indonesia doesn't have any selling pressure in size," he said.