Raw sugar prices rise as supplies tighten; cocoa also up

LONDON: Raw sugar futures on ICE were higher on Thursday, buoyed by continued support from tightening supplies, while cocoa prices also climbed.

Sugar

• October raw sugar rose by 0.4% to 19.74 cents per lb by 1205 GMT.

• Dealers said the market was underpinned by tightening supplies after a drop in Brazilian production with sugar exports falling to 2.60 million tonnes in August, down from 3.14 million tonnes in the same month last year.

• "The main factor driving the upswing in recent weeks has been Brazilian production, which was first hit by drought and then also by frost," Commerzbank said in a note, adding sugar that prices had risen by more than 50% over the past 12 months.

• October white sugar rose by 0.7% to $486.80 a tonne.

London cocoa hits three week low amid excess supplies

Cocoa

• December New York cocoa rose by 1.6% to $2,579 a tonne.

• Dealers said the market was supported by an expected decline in production in West Africa during the upcoming 2021/22 season, which begins next month.

• Nigeria's cocoa output is likely to fall by at least 12.5% next season as late and heavy rains threaten to damage the main crop and raise the risk of disease, the president of the country's cocoa industry association said.

• December London cocoa was up 1.4% at 1,784 pounds a tonne.

Coffee

• November robusta coffee was unchanged at $2,066 a tonne, holding just below the four-year high of $2,092 set on Wednesday.

• Dealers said the market continued to gain support from a pick-up in robusta demand, linked to the high price of arabica beans, and the current high cost of shipping supplies from top robusta producer Vietnam.

• Markets in Vietnam were closed on Thursday and will remain shut on Friday for national holidays.

• December arabica coffee was up 0.95% at $1.9750 per lb.