Liffe May cocoa ended 2 pounds higher at 2,018 pounds a tonne on Wednesday, underpinned by concerns over risks to supplies from top producer Ivory Coast after a disputed November 28 election. Liffe March white sugar ended $25.80 lower at $784.50 per tonne, buoyed by strong demand and tightening supplies following adverse weather in several key producing countries.
Liffe March robusta coffee ended $2 higher at $2,012 per tonne, supported by ICE arabica futures which surged to the highest level in more than 13 years. Prices in Ivory Coast are shooting up, transport is choked by strikes or fears of civil war, and a cocoa industry that is still the life blood of this once affluent West African economy is increasingly in disarray.
Ivory Coast's incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo on Tuesday invited an international committee to re-examine the results of a disputed election, to avoid a bitter power struggle with his rival escalating into civil war. China's Commerce Ministry said the country will increase imports of key agricultural commodities which are in tight supply in 2011 to replenish central government reserves.
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