LONDON: London robusta coffee futures on ICE rose on Thursday, a day after New York arabica touched 10-year highs, on persistent supply snags in top robusta producer Vietnam. US markets were closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.

COFFEE

January robusta coffee closed 0.5% higher at $2,292 a tonne.

Fresh coffee beans from Vietnam’s 2021/22 (Oct-Sept) harvest have yet to arrive because rains in key growing areas and a cherry picker shortage have disrupted bean processing, traders said.

Looking further ahead, dealers cited a US Department of Agriculture report that forecast a rise in Vietnam green coffee exports to 22.9 million bags in 2021/22, up 4.5% year on year.

March arabica coffee closed 1.4% up at $2.4540 per lb on Wednesday after peaking at $2.4755, its highest since October 2011.

Arabica remains plagued by worries over container shipping backlogs in top producer Brazil, fears over farmer delivery defaults and falling ICE certified stocks.

SUGAR

March white sugar ended unchanged at $511.20 a tonne. Dealers said the market has slipped back into range-trading and will be quiet until early next week.

March raw sugar closed 0.9% down on at 19.93 cents per lb on Wednesday.

Citi has upgraded its average sugar price forecast for 2022 from 19.5 cents to 20.3 cents, citing persistent market tightness through the 2022/23 season, the La Nina weather phenomenon hitting Brazil’s output and low Indian exports.

COCOA

March London cocoa closed 0.1% lower at 1,718 pounds a tonne having hit a one-month high of 1,758 pounds on Tuesday.

Top producers Ivory Coast and Ghana are reportedly selling at these price levels, with above-average rains in the two countries reducing worries about falling output this season.

Citi expects a global cocoa deficit of 75,000-100,000 tonnes in 2021/22 but said the market is still working off the 300,000 tonnes surplus from 2020/21.

March New York cocoa closed 2.1% down at $2,512 a tonne on Wednesday.