HANOI/BANDAR LAMPUNG, Jan 4 (Reuters) -

Major Asian coffee markets saw little activity amid low demand for Vietnamese robusta beans this week, traders said on Thursday, while Indonesian premiums were unchanged on limited stockpiles.

Farmers in the central highlands, Vietnam's largest coffee-growing area, were selling beans for 67,000-67,900 dong ($2.75-$2.79) per kg, slightly narrowing from last week's 67,000-68,500 dong.

"Demand from international buyer is not high, buyers are mostly local roasters now," said a trader based in the coffee belt.

"Farmers are releasing beans bit by bit, not in bulk. They only sell beans when they need money," the trader added.

March robusta coffee has fallen $86 this week since resuming trade after the New Year holidays, having closed at $2,755 per metric ton on Wednesday.

Traders offered 5% black and broken-grade 2 robusta at a premium range of $70-$100 per ton to the March contract, compared with last week's $20-$40 premiums.

Coffee exports from Vietnam are estimated to have fallen 9.6% in 2023 from a year earlier to 1.6 million tons, government data showed, although export revenue rose 3.1% to $4.2 billion.

Meanwhile, Indonesia exported 12,962.36 tons of robusta beans from Sumatra in November, official data showed, down 77.5% from the same month last year. Shipments also edged lower on a monthly basis.

In Lampung province, robusta beans were offered at around $600 premium to February to March contracts, similar to the January to February contracts offered last week, one trader said.

"There is virtually no more beans so the premium is not coming down just yet," the trader said.

Robusta coffee harvest in the southern region of Sumatra typically gradually starts from around March to April. A farmer in Western Lampung district said coffee cherries are currently "the size of a crab's eyes". ($1 = 24,375.0000 dong) (Reporting by Phuong Nguyen and Mas Alina Arifin in Bandar Lampung; Editing by Varun H K)