Coffee export firms say they will sell their products using immediate delivery methods for the upcoming harvest season to prevent financial risk.

As coffee growers began to harvest their 2009-2010 crop, Vietnam’s 20 top coffee export firms held an unscheduled meeting on November 17 in Ho Chi Minh City to discuss measures to purchase and export coffee to protect themselves and growers from losses.

Firms said they would sell conservatively in the beginning of the harvest season as heavy selling could cause prices to fall, adding that they would also establish a mutual agreement on purchase prices on domestic market.

Coffee output is expected to drop by 20-35 percent compared to previous crops as unfavorable weather and an increasing number of old coffee trees has caused production to fall sharply.

According to a report by the International Coffee Organization (ICO) on September 1, 75 percent of Vietnamese coffee did not meet quality improvement standards, which has seriously damaged the reputation of Vietnamese coffee on the global market.

Export prices were at just around US$1,350-1,360 a ton. Domestic prices fell to VND24,000 a kilo.