US MIDDAY: sugar and coffee lower

Raw sugar and coffee futures edged lower early on Wednesday, consolidating after a slide in recent sessions as funds exited long positions and took profits. Cocoa was higher, buoyed by talk that black pod disease is likely to affect Ivory Coast's main crop, which kicked off officially last week.
ICE March raw sugar futures traded down 0.38 cent or 1.6 percent at 23.36 cents a lb at 1454 GMT. ICE March arabica coffee futures traded down 0.1 cent or 0.06 percent at $1.7865 a lb. ICE December cocoa traded up $20 or 0.7 percent at $2,734 per tonne.