ASIA COFFEE-Trade slows in Vietnam as traders await new crop; rainfall concerns persist

By Phuong Nguyen and Mas Alina Arifin

HANOI, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Trading activity in Vietnam remained subdued as traders awaited the bulk arrival of new beans from the ongoing harvest, expected from mid-November, while concerns persisted over rainfall potentially disrupting the peak harvest, traders said on Thursday.

In the Central Highlands, Vietnam's largest coffee-growing region, farmers sold beans COFVN-DAK at 115,500 dong to 116,500 dong ($4.38 to $4.42), slightly lower than last week's 117,000 dong to 118,500 dong.

Robusta coffee LRCc2 for January delivery settled up $145, or 3%, at $4,610 a metric ton on Wednesday,

"The higher London price was due to fresh concerns over rains in Vietnam," one trader said.

"It is currently gloomy in the coffee-growing area due to scattered rains, which may slow the cherry-picking process and hurt next year's crop."

Traders offered 5% black and broken-grade 2 robusta COFVN-G25-SAI at a discount of $150 to $200 per ton to the January LIFFE contract, compared with a $120-$150 discount a week earlier.

Another trader said it was still too early to assess the quality of beans as arrivals are still limited.

"If it doesn't rain, beans should start coming in bulk in two weeks," the trader said.

In Indonesia, Sumatra robusta coffee beans were offered at an $80 discount to the November and December contracts, narrowing from the $120 discount last week due to lower supplies of beans, a trader said.

Another trader quoted a $70 discount to the January contract, compared with the $100 discount last week.

Farmers in West Lampung said that current weather conditions were favourable for trees to grow but predicted the harvest season would be delayed until around August 2026.

($1 = 26,344.0000 dong)