HANOI: Vietnam’s coffee export market continued on a sluggish note this week due to limited beans supplies, while prices remained high in Indonesia as buyers were fighting for beans, traders said on Thursday. Farmers in the central highlands, Vietnam’s largest coffee-growing area, sold beans at 60,700 dong ($2.58) to 61,900 dong ($2.58-$2.64) per kilogramme, up from 60,300 dong to 61,300 dong last week.

“Prices are still rising but farmers and many exporters do not benefit much from the high prices as farmers already sold all their beans, while high financial cost concerns hindered many businesses from stocking up,” said a trader based in the coffee belt.

September robusta coffee settled up $53, or 2% at $2,636, as of Wednesday’s close. Traders in Vietnam offered 5% black and broken-grade 2 robusta at a premium range of $40-$50 per tonne to the September contract, compared with the $190 premium last week. While Indonesian Sumatra robusta coffee bean was offered at $270 premium to the September contract this week, unchanged from a week ago.? “The price remained high. It’s unlikely for the price to go down at the moment,” one trader based in the region said.

Another trader also offered $365 premium to the August to November contract. Last week, the premium was at $365 to the July to August contract. “Exporters are fighting for beans due to scarce supplies,” the second trader said. “That explains why local prices are rising more than global prices.”