SOFTS-Cocoa hits month-and-a-half low amid upbeat crop prospects

Reuters
Sep 08
SOFTS-Cocoa hits month-and-a-half low amid upbeat crop prospects

Updates prices, adds details

LONDON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Cocoa futures on the ICE exchange hit one-and-a-half-month lows on Monday as dealers remained upbeat on prospects for the upcoming crop in West Africa and beyond.

Raw sugar recovered meanwhile after hitting a two-month trough.

COCOA

* London cocoa LCCc2 fell 1.7% to 5,055 a metric ton at 1537 GMT, having hit its lowest since July 21 at 5,038.

* Broker ADMISI noted that chocolate maker Mondelez last week estimated that the pod count in Africa was 7% above the five-year average and "materially higher" than last year's crop.

* There are also widespread market expectations that Ecuador will overtake Ghana as the world's second-largest cocoa grower as early as next season.

* For the current season, top grower Ivory Coast's 2024/2025 cocoa arrivals at ports were down 2.2% from the season start to September 7, exporters estimated.

* Also, Ivorian farmers said light rains were generally helping the development of the next October-to-March main crop, though a fungal disease called black pod hit some of the country's cocoa-growing regions.

* New York cocoa CCc2 fell 2.6% to $7,275 a ton, having hit its lowest since July 21 at $7,255.

COFFEE

* Robusta coffee LRCc2 rose 2.9% to $4,432 a metric ton, having hit its lowest since August 20 at $4,250.

* Top robusta grower Vietnam exported 85,000 metric tons of coffee in August, up 12.9% from a year ago, data showed. Exports of coffee from January to August rose 7.8% from a year earlier.

* Dealers noted the drawdown in ICE robusta stocks LRC-TOT-VG has started to abate.

* Arabica coffee KCc2 rose 2.7% to $3.8350 per lb.

* Arabica could correct sharply lower if the U.S. Supreme Court upholds last month's federal appeals court ruling that President Donald Trump overstepped his authority in enacting sweeping trade tariffs.

SUGAR

* Raw sugar SBc1 ​​rose 0.6% to 15.64 per lb, having hit a two-month low of 15.38.

* Germany's refined sugar production from beets in the 2025/26 season now starting is forecast to fall 4.9% to an estimated 4.40 million metric tons, from 4.63 million last season, Germany's sugar industry association WVZ said.

* The lowest price offered in the international tender from Pakistan to buy 100,000 metric tons of sugar on Monday was believed to be $545 a metric ton cost and freight included (c&f), European traders said.

* White sugar LSUc1 rose 0.2% to $479.50 a ton.

(Reporting by May Angel; Editing by Pooja Desai and Vijay Kishore)

((maytaal.angel@thomsonreuters.com(@ReutersAngelM) ))

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