Coffee producers will restrict exports until international prices improve, while Vietnam suffers the worst market conditions since 1992, according to industry sources.
However, state-owned marketing bodies will continue buying in a bid to protect growers, a move which is expected to push stockpiles to at least 120,000 tonnes in the near future.
Industry sources said the world market price for Vietnamese coffee stands at US$800 a tonne, well below the London market's standardised price of $1,100 and about $200 less than the break-even price for most domestic producers.
Prices for unprocessed Vietnamese beans had already fallen drastically from $1,567 in January last year to $1,000 by the end of last year's harvest.
'We don't expect improvements until [at least] the end of this year,' said Nguyen Sy Luu of state-owned Vinacafe's Planning and Investment Department.
'However we need to buy coffee from growers . . . if we don't they will not be able to survive,' Mr Luu said.
