LONDON: London cocoa prices were higher on Tuesday with demand beginning to pick up and production set to decline in the 2026/27 season while sugar and arabica coffee futures also rose.
COCOA: ICE London cocoa rose 2 percent to £4,178 a metric ton by 1340 GMT. * Dealers said the market was supported by the prospect of a balanced market in 2026/27 after a significant surplus in the current season.
Swiss chocolate maker Lindt’s chief financial officer, Martin Hug, said on Tuesday that even without El Nino, the next cocoa crop would not be as strong as the current one.
Earlier in July, the United Nations’ weather agency raised its forecast for the rapid emergence of a strong El Nino, a meteorological phenomenon particularly risky for cocoa.
New York cocoa gained 1.7 percent to USD5,606 a ton.
SUGAR: Raw sugar rose 0.3 percent to 14.87 cents per lb.
Dealers noted sugar and cane production in the key Centre-South region of Brazil should have picked up this month after lagging well behind last year during the second half of June.
Sugarcane crushing in the key Brazilian region fell 28.4 percent in the second half of June compared with the same period a year earlier, data released by the country’s Agriculture Ministry showed on Monday.
“Outside Brazil, rainfall in India and Thailand and heat in the EU will also be tracked, with weather risks increasing across all three producers,” Rabobank said in a note.
White sugar gained 0.3 percent to USD468.70 a ton.
COFFEE: ICE arabica coffee was up 1.2 percent at USD3.2830 per lb.
Dealers said the market was supported by short-term supply tightness, reflected partly in low certified exchange stocks.
ICE certified stocks stood at 329,870 bags, as of July 20, down from 342,574 bags a week ago and sharply below the 811,024 bags at the same stage last year.
Robusta coffee fell 0.8 percent to USD3,853 a ton.