ASIA COFFEE — Traders see Vietnam output broadly unchanged from previous crop

By Phuong Nguyen and Mas Alina Arifin HANOI, Oct 15 (Reuters) — Vietnam's coffee output is expected to remain broadly unchanged in the 2025/26 crop year, traders said, even as the US Department of Agriculture projects a modest but continuous increase in production. Farmers in the Central Highlands, Vietnam's coffee belt, sold beans at 92,600 dong to 93,500 dong ($3.58 to $3.61) per kg, little changed from last week's 92,200 dong to 93,000 dong. January robusta coffee futures settled up $27, or 0.8%, at $3,470 a metric ton on Wednesday. "October this year recorded less rainfall than the same period last year, potentially due to the El Nino effect," a trader in the coffee belt said. "The drier weather could support cherry harvesting and bean drying for this year's crop." Vietnam's new coffee crop year began in October, but traders said fresh supplies are not expected to reach the market in significant volumes until next month. Traders offered 5% black and broken-grade 2 robusta at a premium of $150 to $200 per ton to the January LIFFE contract. In Indonesia, the Sumatra robusta coffee bean contract was offered at a $180 to $190 premium to the October contract, up from a $180 premium