Coffee harvest in Vietnam taking longer than usual due to low prices

Hanoi

COFFEE farmers in Vietnam, the top producer of robusta beans used by Nestle SA, are harvesting more slowly than usual because of low prices.

About 32 per cent of the 2015-16 crop was collected in October and November, going by the median of eight estimates from traders surveyed by Bloomberg. That compares with 41 per cent a year ago and a five-year average of about 38 per cent, the survey showed. Output is forecast at 1.65 million tonnes, 3.1 per cent higher than the 1.6 million tonnes in the last crop year.