LONDON: Arabica coffee futures on ICE weakened on Monday, slipping from the prior session's 2-1/2 month high, while cocoa and sugar prices also fell. March arabica coffee fell 2 cents, or 1.6% to $1.2220 per lb by 1454 GMT. The benchmark second position rose to a peak of $1.2480 on Friday, its highest since mid-September.

Dealers said rains over the next few days could aid the outlook for crops in southern Brazil, although some of the damage from the recent dry spell was likely to be irreversible. "Brazil's 2021 crop forecasts are being lowered just when Covid-19 vaccines signal a future resurgence in demand," broker Marex Spectron said in a report, noting it expected demand growth to be above trend from the second quarter of 2021 and lasting into 2022.

March robusta coffee fell $12, or 0.85%, to $1,401 a tonne. Vietnam exported 70,000 tonnes of coffee in November, down 37.5% from a year earlier, government data released on Sunday showed. March New York cocoa was down $11, or 0.4%, at $2,755 a tonne. Dealers said a strong start to the main crop in top grower Ivory Coast remained a bearish influence although the low level of exchange stocks continued to provide support.

March London cocoa fell 7 pounds, or 0.4%, to 1,862 pounds a tonne. Ivory Coast and Ghana are cancelling all cocoa sustainability schemes run by US-based Hershey in the west African countries, accusing the chocolate maker of trying to avoid paying a cocoa premium aimed at combating farmer poverty.

March raw sugar fell 0.22 cents, or 1.5%, to 14.60 cents per lb. Dealers said India was generally expected to announce a programme to subside exports, possibly in late December, with the volume potentially around five million tonnes. March white sugar fell $5.00, or 1.2%, to $399.70 a tonne.