HANOI, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Vietnamese robusta coffee rose on Tuesday to between 44.5 million dong and 45 million dong ($2,132-$2,156) per tonne on the domestic market, hitting a record high following gains in global markets.
Prices in Vietnam, the world's largest producer of robusta beans, were up from 42.2 million dong a week ago, which was itself a record as London futures traded at a 2-1/2-year high, supported by a surge in arabica prices.
An increase of 20.6 percent since the end of 2010 has brought local prices closer to the level of 50 million dong per tonne at which farmers are expected to unload more beans, traders said.
The all-time high is in local currency terms. The dong <VND=VN> was devalued by 8.5 percent against the dollar on Feb. 11.
Farmers in the Central Highlands coffee belt are due to start a second phase of tree watering soon for the 2011/2012 crop.
The watering process and fertiliser feeding often last from February to early May before the rainy season returns to the area, which produces about 80 percent of Vietnam's coffee.
The watering process, in three or four phases of around 20 days at a time, is essential to coffee flowering as it helps trees cope with the peak of the dry season in March.
Vietnam's coffee crop year lasts from October to September, starting with a four-month harvest.
Initial reports said some cherries did not contain solid beans inside, suggesting the next crop may not be good, Chairman Luong Van Tu of the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association said last week in his first comments on the next crop. [ID:nHAN312381] ($1=20,875 dong)
Source: (Reporting by Ho Binh Minh; Editing by Alan Raybould) ((ho.minh@thomsonreuters.com; +844 3825 9623; Reuters Messaging: ho.minh.reuters.com@reuters.net)) ((If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com)) Keywords: MARKETS VIETNAM/COFFEE
