New York Futures: Robusta Coffee fell to a five-and-a-half-year low as Vietnamese exports were strong

London (Reuters)-Robusta coffee futures fell to a five-and-a-half-year low on Monday as strong exports from Vietnam, the world's second-largest coffee producer, added to already abundant supply pressure.

London cocoa and sugar futures closed flat with light trading as the US market was closed for holidays.

Traders said Vietnam had just had a bumper harvest and that coffee from the previous crop season was still in stock and kept supply because farmers were counting on better prices, but did not wait until prices rebounded.

"there is a lot of inventory left from last quarter and there doesn't seem to be any supply problem," said one London trader.

Customs data on Monday showed that Vietnam exported 152000 tons of coffee in December, an increase of 58.6 percent over the previous month. This figure is higher than the market and the government expected.

Robusta coffee closed down $21, or 1.5%, at $1420 a tonne in March and fell to a low of $1415 in late trading, the lowest level since June 2010.

The widespread selling of investment funds in commodity markets also hit the price of Robusta coffee futures, traders said.

London cocoa futures are flat and the market is supported by reduced arrivals from Ivory Coast ports.

London cocoa closed up 1 pound at 2117 a tonne in May.

Sugar futures fell slightly, with March sugar futures closing down $0.40, or 0.1%, at $426.80 per ton.

From the New York Futures Exchange