LONDON: Robusta coffee futures on ICE were holding just below a recent 4-1/2 year peak on Thursday, underpinned by short-term supply tightness driven by concerns about delays to the harvest in top robusta producer Vietnam.

COFFEE

January robusta coffee was down 0.1% to $2,229 a tonne at 1331 GMT. The benchmark second position set a 4-1/2 year high of $2,278 last week.

Dealers said the COVID-19 pandemic was disrupting the harvest in Vietnam, with some cherry pickers contracting the virus while others were self-isolating after coming into contact with the infected.

New beans were expected to come by the second half of November and traders estimated that, with the current labour shortage and travel restrictions between provinces, the harvesting time might be delayed by at least a week.

November’s premium to March widened to about $90, up sharply from $26 at Wednesday’s close.

There are also concerns the flow of coffee out of Vietnam could be slowed by high freight costs and a shortage of container shipping capacity.

December arabica coffee rose 0.2% to $2.0965 per lb.

Commodities traders including Louis Dreyfus, Olam and Volcafe are pursuing legal action against hundreds of Brazilian coffee farmers whose failure to deliver on pre-agreed sales has left the merchants exposed to losses, according to sources and documents seen by Reuters.

COCOA

March New York cocoa rose 0.1% to $2,475 a tonne after dipping on Wednesday to its weakest level since Aug. 6 at $2,460.

Dealers said supplies remained ample, with the 2021/22 outlook for production in top grower Ivory Coast remaining generally favourable.

March London cocoa fell 0.1% to 1,679 pounds a tonne.

SUGAR

March raw sugar rose 1.75% to 19.72 cents per lb.

Dealers said the market was supported by the strength of crude oil on Thursday. Cane can be used to produce either biofuel ethanol or sugar in some countries, so high energy prices can curb output of the sweetener.

December white sugar rose 0.7% to $509.70 a tonne.