Rainfall Slows Harvesting of Vietnam Coffee Crop

Rains in Viet Nam, the second biggest coffee producer after Brazil, are delaying harvesting in the largest growing region, an agricultural official said.

``Harvesting of coffee will be slowed as rains started earlier this week and were forecast to last for a couple of days,'' said Nguyen Van Sinh, deputy director of the agricultural department in Vietnam's coffee-growing province of Dak Lak.

Slower harvesting in Viet Nam may help rally international prices. Robusta coffee for delivery in January rose the most in two weeks to $1,642 a metric ton on London's Liffe exchange yesterday, after falling to the lowest since May 2007 on Oct. 27 on expectations a recession will curb demand for raw materials.

```More rains are expected in Central Viet Nam,'' the main coffee-growing area, in the next five days, said Joel Widenor, meteorologist for MDA EarthSat Weather Services in Rockville, Maryland. In south-central Vietnam rains have eased dryness concerns, he said.

Vietnamese farmers have harvested about 5 to 10% of the crop in Dak Lak for the crop year ending Sept. 30, 2009, Sinh said by telephone yesterday. The province grows 180,000 hectares (444,700 acres), or 40% of the country's coffee land, according to Sinh.

``The rains have stopped us from picking the beans for a few days already,'' said Nguyen Xuan Thai, director of Dak Lak-based Thang Loi Coffee Co., the country's largest grower.

Rainfall in Buon Ma Thuot, capital of Dak Lak, totaled 126.4 millimeters from Oct. 11 to Oct. 20, up from 4.9 millimeters in the same period last year, according to the Dak Lak Hydrology and Meteorology Office in the central highlands.

Vietnam's Central Highlands include Dak Lak, Dak Nong and Lam Dong, which grow three-quarters of the country's coffee. The region may receive more rains in the next two weeks, said Nguyen Dai Nguong, director of the weather office. (Bloomberg)