Saving rain! Recent downpours and storms that hit the provinces of Kon Tum and Gia Lai, in central Vietnam, quickly allayed the fears of coffee producers and traders. The “golden rain”, as some have already dubbed it, has reinvigorated confidence in grain yields, hitherto shaken by the record heat and drought that hit the country’s growing areas, reducing like skin of sorrow water for irrigation. These raindrops trickled down to the financial markets: coffee prices in Vietnam experienced a spectacular turnaround, falling by 24% during the first days of May, after an equally extraordinary surge during the first four months of 2024. On May 4, a kilo of robusta, frequently used by the coffee industry in blends and instants, fell to $4.02, far from the recent peak of $5.27, according to the VnExpress website. Robusta coffee futures in La City only reflected the sudden variations in the Vietnamese domestic market, with those for delivery in July falling from $4,300 to $3,500 per tonne. Arabica coffee on the New York Mercantile Exchange followed the same trajectory, falling more than $5,000 to $4,400 per ton. In April, wholesale prices of robusta reached their highest level in 45 years, according to data from the International Coffee Organization.
