Vietnam's coffee exports for November are forecast to fall 28.6 percent from a year ago to an estimated 50,000 tonnes, or 0.83 million bags, the government's statistics office said on Monday. The General Statistic Office also revised down coffee shipments last month to 39,000 tonnes, or 0.65 million 60-kg bags, from 45,000 tonnes in its previous estimate.
October and November are the first months of the 2008/2009 coffee crop year, which started with the harvest now at peak in the Central Highlands. Vietnam is the world's second-largest coffee producer and ranks the first in robusta output.
With the latest export figures, Vietnamese coffee exporters have shipped an estimated 14.23 million bags of beans in the first 11 months of 2008, 21.4 percent lower than the same period last year, the statistic office said in its monthly report.
Coffee earnings between January and November would rise 6.6 percent from a year ago to $1.77 billion, the report said. Last week the Industry and Trade Ministry forecast coffee exports in 2008 at 18.3 million bags. It has also projected coffee exports next year to rise 9.3 percent to 20 million bags while revenues would ease 4.3 percent to $1.2 billion. The ministry did not provide any reason for higher export volume in the calendar year of 2009 but industry reports were saying Vietnam would harvest a bumper 2008/2009 crop.