Vietnam's robusta coffee prices sink before new harvest
London robusta touched $3,218 a tonne this week, a 3.5-month low, before rebounding as Vietnam's 2026/27 crop nears and exports keep climbing.
Robusta coffee prices fell to a three-and-a-half-month low of $3,218 a tonne this week before rebounding, as Vietnam's farmers hold out for the 2026/27 crop that opens in October.
Robusta slides then claws back
The London contract closed Thursday at $3,317 a tonne, up 1.7% from Wednesday's low, according to Reuters data carried by Business Recorder. It is the lowest robusta has traded since prices first slipped below $3,400 on 19 September.
A three-and-a-half-month low, then a rebound: Vietnam's coffee market is pricing patience, not panic.
Farmers in Vietnam's Central Highlands, the world's biggest robusta belt, sold beans at 92,000 to 93,000 dong ($3.54-$3.58) a kilo this week, down from 93,000-93,500 dong seven days earlier. Dak Lak, the benchmark province, held near 93,600 dong through most of last week; neighbouring Dak Nong settled higher, at 93,800 dong.
Indonesia's Sumatra robusta for October shipment traded at a $180-a-tonne premium over the November London contract, down sharply from $230 the previous week, as Lampung's harvest pushes more beans onto the market and eases the squeeze that had held premiums up.
"Healthy supplies from Brazil and steadily rising exports from Vietnam are putting pressure on robusta prices," a trader in the Central Highlands told Reuters.
Exports rise while earnings shrink
Vietnam shipped nearly 1.7 million tonnes of coffee in the first eight months of 2026, more than 10% above the same period last year, the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association says. Export earnings still fell 11.2%, to just over $6 billion, because this year's prices trail 2025's.
The association expects full-year export volume to climb 8-10%, even though picking only builds through November and December. About 30% of Vietnam's coffee area now carries a sustainability certificate, a share growers want to raise before the EU's deforestation checks take effect.
Buyers are in no hurry to commit. Dealers quoted 5% black-and-broken grade 2 robusta at a $200-a-tonne premium to the November contract this week, with almost no new business signed.
Vietnam's coffee year turns over on 1 October, though volumes stay thin until farmers in lower-lying districts start picking in November. The next real test comes with the first fresh-crop deliveries, whenever they land on a market that has already priced in the wait.
