LONDON: Raw sugar futures on ICE fell nearly 1% on Wednesday as inflation jitters pressured the wider financial markets while higher than expected sugar production in Centre-South Brazil also added to the downward pressure on prices.

SUGAR

March raw sugar was down 1.3% to 19.64 at 1424 GMT.

Dealers noted a report issued by industry group Unica showed sugar production in Centre-South Brazil was slightly higher than expected during the second half of October at 858,000 tonnes.

A survey by S&P Global Platts had an average estimate for the CS Brazil production data of 711,200 tonnes.

December white sugar, which expires next Monday, fell 1% to $509.50 a tonne.

COCOA

March New York cocoa rose 2.2% to $2,518 a tonne, extending its rebound from a three-month low of $2,433 set on Monday.

The world’s biggest chocolate maker Barry Callebaut said it expects the global cocoa market to be much more balanced in the 2021/22 season as demand recovers from pandemic-related weakness.

“There’s no reason to think the crop won’t be good, but the demand of course comes back and that’s where you get a more balanced view,” chief financial officer Ben De Schryver said.

The International Cocoa Organization currently estimates there was a global surplus of 230,000 tonnes in 2020/21.

March London cocoa rose 1.3% to 1,691 pounds per tonne?.

COFFEE

January robusta fell 0.1% to $2,224 a tonne, having closed up 2.8% on Tuesday.

Top robusta producer Vietnam’s coffee exports in October fell 1.1% from September, government data showed. Coffee shipments in the first 10 months of this year fell 4.2% from a year earlier.

March arabica coffee fell 0.2% to $2.0825 per lb, having closed up 3.1% on Tuesday.