Viet coffee farmers curb sales as output slumps

Hanoi

COFFEE farmers in Vietnam, the world's top supplier of the robusta variety used by Nestle SA, are curbing sales to secure higher prices, aided by cheaper credit which increases their ability to store beans.

Output in the year from Oct 1 will probably fall about 6 per cent to 1.62 million tonnes from a record 1.72 million tonnes a year earlier, according to the median of 15 trader estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Farmers sold 15 per cent of the crop by end-December, compared with 22 per cent the year before, the survey shows. Harvesting is almost complete, they said.