* Exports nearly triple in Feb, exporters fullfil contracts
* Weather affects quality, harvest uncertain
* Early flowering prompted exporters not to sell forward shipment
Indonesia's robusta coffee shipments from the main growing areas in Sumatra island nearly tripled last month versus a year ago as exporters turned to inventories to fulfill old contracts, but concerns over harvests persisted.
Exporters shipped 17,504.98 tonnes in February, compared to 6,606.78 tonnes in the same month a year ago, trade data showed, with rising prices in London futures also prompting more sales from the world's second-largest robusta producer after Vietnam.
"Rallying coffee prices have prompted suppliers to sell their coffee stocks," said Azis Chan Satib, a spokesman at the Indonesia Coffee Association (AEKI).
Harvests in Sumatra usually start in March or April, but farmers have been picking cherries since January as the flowering season began earlier in some areas after the previous crop ended last August.
As a result, many exporters refused to sell forward shipment, preferring to sign nearby contracts to prevent defaults. Exporters in the main growing province of Lampung began to stock pile good-quality coffee last year, with beans estimated at more than 100,000 tonnes in late 2010.
AEKI expects Indonesian coffee bean production to fall by 30 percent this year from an estimated 600,000 tonnes in 2010, as rains in key producing areas damage cherries.
Unseasonal heavy rains cut output of many commodities in Indonesia last year or in early 2011, leaving coffee growers unable to take advantage of a rally in coffee prices that took
London second-month robusta coffee futures <LRCc2> up 57 percent in 2010 to end the year at $2,097 per tonne.
EXTENDED RAINS
The prolonged rains resulted in Indonesian exports falling 28 percent last year. The country's exports last year fell to 247,750.34 tonnes, from 342,844.25 tonnes in 2009.
Robusta, used in instant coffee, mostly grows in Lampung, Bengkulu, and South Sumatra provinces at the southern end of Sumatra island and accounts for about 85 percent of Indonesia's coffee roduction. The rest is higher value, aromatic arabica coffee.
Robusta has tracked rallies in premium arabica beans to levels not seen in more than 30 years to stand at around 278 U.S. cents a pound.
The jump in February exports surprised some dealers, although it also meant that inventories were being drawn down as the current harvest yielded many black, and mouldy beans.
London's May robusta contract <LRCK1> fell $24 to $2,360 a tonne in early trade on Wednesday.
"It is quite a surprise for me, because we tend to think the coffee harvesting progress is not going well due to the rainy season," said Ker Chung Yang, investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
"This is likely to weigh on the coffee prices, especially robusta coffee, because this is a huge number. They (Indonesia) are likely to export more at the moment because they want to enjoy the higher coffee prices."
Indonesia competes with Vietnam, where stocks are falling given a faster shipping pace so far in the October 2010/September 2011 harvesting season while the volume of exportable beans may have fallen due to a higher ratio of small-sized beans, traders said.
Robusta prices in Vietnam's domestic market jumped to a record high in local currency terms on Tuesday to 46 million dong ($2,205) a tonne, but exporters still found it difficult to secure beans from growers who are holding back sales, traders said.
Following are details of exports:
MONTH 2011 2010 Pct change
(tonnes) (tonnes) (y/y)
January 17,589.10 6,740.40 +161
February 17,504.98 6,606.78 +165
Total 35,094.08 247,750.34 n/a
source: https://portal.hpd.global.reuters.com/
