bolaasiangame| Robusta coffee is in short supply for the fourth consecutive year as major producer Vietnam continues to experience dry weather

Financial Union, May 23 (Editor Xia Junxiong) Coffee trading giant Volcafe predicts that due to the continued drought in Vietnam, the main producer, Robusta coffee beans will appear unprecedented.bolaasiangameThere is a shortage for the fourth consecutive year.

Affected by the El Niño phenomenon, an unusual heat wave continues to loom over most of Southeast Asia, including Vietnam. Severe weather in Vietnam has caused markets to worry that the country's coffee crop will continue to suffer.

Vietnam is the world's second largest coffee exporter and the largest Robusta coffee producer, accounting for approximately one-third of the global Robusta coffee bean supply.

Volcafe's report shows that Vietnam's coffee production in 2024-25 is expected to be 24 million bags, which will be the lowest level in 13 years. Each bag of coffee weighs 60 kilograms.

In addition to the impact of insufficient rainfall, reduced chemical fertilizer use and increased durian planting area have also put pressure on coffee bean production. Some farmers in Vietnam have cut down coffee trees and switched to more profitable crops such as durian and avocado.

Volcafe predicts that the global deficit of Robusta coffee in 2024-25 will be 4.6 million bags, down from the 9 million bags gap in the previous year.

Affected by supply shortages, London Robusta coffee futures once rose to more than US$4500 per ton last month, setting a new high. Earlier this month, London Robusta coffee futures fell sharply as rainfall improved, but the fundamentals of supply shortages have not been reversed.

Volcafe said in the report that solving the current shortage of Robusta coffee beans would require higher prices to reduce demand or encourage buyers to use more Arabica coffee. However, the price of Robusta coffee beans is still much lower than that of Arabica coffee beans, so consumers who pursue cost-effectiveness still tend to choose Robusta coffee beans.

The report said that in the past six months, industry demand has shifted more towards Arabica coffee beans, but a larger shift is needed to change the shortage of Robusta coffee beans.

Brazil is the world's largest coffee producer and is famous for its Arabica coffee, but it is also the second largest Robusta coffee producer.

Brazil's Robusta coffee exports set a record last year, partly making up for Vietnam's supply gap. But Volcafe expects Brazil's Robusta coffee production to also fall in 2024-25 due to crop damage due to dry weather last autumn.