Coffee prices in Asia fell marginally in the week to Friday, along with the decline in London futures, with some traders saying selling by farmers in Viet Nam is likely to pick up soon.

The benchmark March robusta contract on London’s Euronext.liffe settled at $1,609 a metric ton Thursday, down from $1,647/ton a week earlier.

Meanwhile, cash discount to the contract fell in Viet Nam to around $100/ton from $130/ton a week earlier.

Trading remained quiet overall, and with Chinese New Year holidays approaching, trading may remain thin, said a trader in Viet Nam.

Still, “usually at this time every year, as farmers (in Viet Nam) have to meet their loan repayment obligations, before applying for new ones, they may want to collect cash for that,” said an executive at an international trading house.

“There are signals that farmers become more willing to sell than earlier,” she said, adding that prices may consequently fall in the next few weeks, if supplies do increase.

In India, another major producer in the region, prices also fell slightly.

The robusta cherry AB crop was quoted around $1,700/ton, down from $1,750/ton a week ago, and Arabica plantation grade A prices were around $2,550/ton, down from $2,600/ton.

“Trading was quite slow this week due to the holidays (in India), with few inquiries,” said a broker in Bangalore.

“With the premium to the Liffe contract remaining high, most buyers waited on the sidelines,” he said.

Ramesh Rajah, president of the Coffee Exporters Association of India, said on Wednesday the country’s robusta coffee exports in 2009 are likely to rise 6% to 115,000 tons on early arrivals of the crop, while arabica exports are expected to fall 20% to 39,875 tons, as unseasonable rains damaged the ripened berries in October. (Dow Jones)