Cocoa slides as stocks rise; coffee, sugar also slip

LONDON: Cocoa futures on the ICE exchange slid on Friday, heading near recent four-month lows as stocks held in exchange warehouses continue to head higher, while sugar and coffee also fell.

Cocoa

London cocoa fell 2.6% to 6,075 pounds per ton at 1256 GMT, heading near this week’s four-month low of 5,994.

New York cocoa fell 3.1% to $7,823/ton.

Dealers noted that stocks held in exchange warehouses in the United States remain near their highest in four months.

They also cited reports that top producer Ivory Coast will not have to cancel export contracts this year, despite the dismal outlook for the mid-crop.

Reuters reported earlier this week that dry weather is expected to reduce the size of the Ivorian mid-crop by 40%.

Alex Assanvo, executive secretary of the Ivory Coast-Ghana Cocoa Initiative (CIGCI) said at an industry event on Thursday that the fall in cocoa output in Ivory Coast and Ghana for the current season is “significant”.

Cocoa steadies as traders wait for more data on demand

Sugar

Raw sugar was unchanged at 20 cents per lb, having settled up 1.6% on Tuesday, while white sugar fell 0.6% to $560.30 a metric ton.

Dealers said recent scattered showers in top producer Brazil’s sugar belt have improved the 2025 production outlook somewhat, but more rains are needed.

Soil moisture in Brazil’s main sugar belt fell to the lowest in seven years after the dry spell in February and early March, according to the LSEG Agriculture Weather Dashboard.

Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said on Thursday his government expects lengthy tariff negotiations with the United States, and suggested they would include trade discussions involving sugar and ethanol.

Coffee

Arabica coffee fell 0.7% to $3.8235 per lb, still consolidating after hitting record levels in February.

Rabobank said rains have returned to coffee areas in top producer Brazil, bringing some relief. It believes the impact of February and early March dry weather on the crop has been limited.

Co-op Cooxupe, however, said the dry spell has already impacted production negatively both for 2025 and 2026, though added it is difficult to determine by how much.

Commodity traders Cargill, Marex, Olam and Louis Dreyfus, along with the world’s largest coffee roaster JDE Peet’s, are among firms that lost money with the downfall of Brazilian coffee traders Atlantica and Cafebras, according to court documents.

Robusta coffee was little changed at $5,498 a ton.