Singapore, Oct 22 - Indonesian coffee exporters have delayed shipments of at least 30,000 tonnes of beans to various buyers and could default on delivery after a sharp drop in London futures, dealers said on Wednesday.
"They have signed contracts to deliver coffee to Europe and the U.S.," said a regional dealer.
"At least 40,000 tonnes have been contracted, and out of that amount around 30,000 tonnes may not be shipped out at all because of the risk of losing money. They want the price to go back to $2,000," said.
London's January robusta contract shed $5 to end at $1,786 a tonne on Tuesday -- not far from a 17-month low of $1,642 hit two weeks ago. Indonesia is the world's second-largest robusta producer after Vietnam.
Rumours that local sellers in Indonesia's main producing province of Lampung are delaying shipments have been circulating in the market in the last few days as coffee prices tumble amid fears of a global recession.
"We've been hearing reports about defaults from Indonesia. I can't confirm it but I can't deny it either. So far I am okay because we have our office in Lampung that gets beans directly from farmers," said a dealer at a trading house in Singapore.
Robusta beans make up around 85 percent of Indonesia's coffee output, estimated at around 450,000 tonnes this year, while the rest is higher-value, aromatic arabica beans.
The International Coffee Organization (ICO) said the global financial crisis could cut coffee supplies and people could drink more at home.