ASIA COFFEE-Vietnam market subdued as traders await new coffee beans

By Phuong Nguyen and Mas Alina Arifin

HANOI, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Trading activity stayed lacklustre in Vietnam this week due to coffee bean shortages ahead of the upcoming season, while rains continued to hamper harvesting in Indonesia, traders said on Thursday.

In the Central Highlands, Vietnam's largest coffee-growing region, farmers sold beans COFVN-DAK at 114,500-116,800 dong ($4.34-$4.42) per kg, compared with last week's 114,600-115,300 dong.

"As we approach the upcoming crop season, traders tend to wait for new beans while keeping a close eye on the weather," a trader based in the coffee belt said.

Traders also noted that it was too soon to have proper estimates about the output of the crop. However, given current weather conditions, "it is very likely a good one," according to one trader.

Robusta coffee LRCc2 settled $106, or 1%, higher, at $4,477 a metric ton on Wednesday.

Vietnam exported 1.1 million metric tons of coffee in the August-January period, up 7.8% from a year earlier, government data showed. The country exported 85,000 metric tons of coffee last month, an annual increase of 12.9%.

In Indonesia, Sumatra robusta coffee bean premiums to the November contract fell to $0 from $50 last week to the October contract, one trader said.

Another quoted a $100 discount to the November contract, compared with the $50 premium last week.

A farmer in Indonesia's West Lampung said heavy rains continued to batter the region, which is "bad for coffee development in the coming years".

($1 = 26,404.0000 dong)