LONDON: Raw sugar futures on ICE were higher on Monday with the market underpinned by a deteriorating outlook for production in centre-south Brazil, while arabica coffee prices also rose.

July raw sugar rose by 0.28 cent, or 1.7%, to 17.18 cents per lb by 1424 GMT.

Dealers noted mills in centre-south Brazil were slowly beginning to reduce the amount of cane they use to produce sugar, increasingly favouring biofuel ethanol.

“It still looks as if, over time, the sugar mix (in centre-south Brazil) will turn out to be lower than last year,” broker Marex said in a note, adding there were also reports on the ground that cane quality is getting worse.

Brazilian mills in the main centre-south region produced 2.19 million tonnes of sugar in the first half of June, 14% less than a year earlier and below market expectations.

A small delivery continues to be expected against the July contract, which expires on Wednesday.

August white sugar rose by $6.10, or 1.4%, to $433.90 a tonne.

September arabica coffee rose by 2.7 cents, or 1.7%, to $1.6050 per lb.

Dealers were keeping a close watch on a strong cold front, which is moving towards Brazil’s centre-south region with a drop in temperatures forecast for Wednesday and Thursday and a risk of frost in some low-lying areas.

September robusta coffee rose by $9, or 0.5%, to $1,688 a tonne. September New York cocoa fell by $15, or 0.6%, to $2,365 a tonne.

September London cocoa fell by 7 pounds, or 0.4%, to 1,611 pounds a tonne.

Ivory Coast has sold 1.18 million tonnes worth of cocoa contracts for the 2021/2022 season, putting the world’s largest producer on course to meet its September sales targets, two sources at the national cocoa regulator said.

Ghana is struggling to hit its cocoa export sales targets for the 2021/2022 season, with sales at the end of last week totalling around 350,000 tonnes-worth of export contracts, two sources at the cocoa regulator said.