LONDON: London cocoa futures on ICE hit their lowest in 2-1/2 years on Friday amid ongoing worries over unsold stocks in top growers Ivory Coast and Ghana, while coffee prices rallied.
COCOA
London cocoa fell 0.8percent to 2,604 pounds per metric ton at 1357 GMT, having hit its lowest since mid-2023 earlier at 2,582. Ghana slashed its fixed price for cocoa at the farmgate by a third on Thursday and announced a new financing model for bean purchases in a bid to reboot its cocoa sales and get cash to farmers.
The world’s second largest cocoa grower said last week it has about 50,000 metric tons of unsold cocoa sitting at its ports. It was unable to shift the stock because the beans were priced significantly above ICE futures.
Sales might be slow even with the new, greatly reduced farmgate price, according to an industry veteran, who noted that chocolate makers do not need the beans given ample global supplies and poor demand.
A dealer said it is only a matter of time before top grower Ivory Coast also cuts its lofty farmgate prices as it too has unsold surplus stock. New York cocoa dipped 0.2percent to USD3,715 a ton, having hit its lowest in more than two years at USD3,666.
COFFEE
Arabica coffee rose 1.2percent to USD3.0115 per lb, recovering from a 6-1/2 month low hit earlier this week. BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions, cited ongoing weather concerns in major producing countries like Brazil and Colombia.
It also noted that despite tariff relief by the US on Brazilian imports, ICE-certified Brazilian coffee stocks have been slow to recover. Robusta coffee rose 1.9percent to USD3,835 a ton.
SUGAR
Raw sugar rose 0.4percent to 13.84 cents per lb after slumping to a five-year low on Thursday on technical signals and poor spot demand. White sugar, which expires later this session, was up 1percent at USD380 in thin trading conditions.
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