Hanoi, Dec 3 - Vietnam's coffee exports for 2008 are forecast to fall 17.5 percent from last year to 985,000 tonnes, or 16.42 million bags, a government trade report said.
Coffee exports in November and December would reach 180,000 tonnes, meaning 130,000 tonnes (2.2 million bags) would go this month, after Vietnam loaded an estimated 50,000 tonnes last month, the Industry and Trade Ministry said in the report.
Thus December's coffee shipment would rise 18.2 percent from the same month last year, according to Reuters calculations based on government figures for 2007.
Despite being the world's second largest coffee producer after Brazil, Vietnam's government compiles figures on coffee production and exports on a calendar year basis, while its coffee crop year runs from October to September.
The ministry's report said coffee exports of 180,000 tonnes in November and December could bring a combined $275 million, down 25.8 percent in value from the same period last year.
It said export prices would average $1,528 a tonne, free-on-board basis, down 27.2 percent from the average price for the first 10 months of 2008.
Vietnamese coffee growers began harvesting the new crop from mid-October but the harvest has been disrupted several times because unseasonal rains last month kept farmers from drying outdoors and going to their farms to pick cherries.
The dry season normally starts in the Central Highlands early in November but showers only stopped late last week. But the rains caused only minor delays, traders said, while the quality of export beans remained good.