LONDON: London and New York cocoa futures on ICE rose to fresh record highs on Monday as crop woes in both Ivory Coast and Ghana, the world’s top two producers, left buyers scrambling for supplies.

COCOA: May London cocoa was up 3.5% at 5,527 pounds a metric ton at 1430 GMT, after hitting a record of 5,599 pounds.

Dealers said the outlook for already poor crops in Ivory Coast and Ghana appeared to be deteriorating further and some now believe the global deficit in the current 2023/24 season could be around 500,000 metric tons.

“The ongoing seasonal intense Harmattan winds in West Africa are exacerbating the bullish prices situation,” the International Cocoa Organization said in a report on Monday.

Dry weather and high temperatures continued last week in most of Ivory Coast’s cocoa-growing regions, raising concerns for the size and quality of the April-to-September mid-crop, farmers said on Monday.

May New York cocoa rose 2% to $6,382 a ton after setting a record high of $6,567 a ton.

SUGAR: March raw sugar rose 1.7% to 23 cents per lb.

Dealers said there was concern that lower rainfall in the key Centre-South region of Brazil would lead to a decline in production in the upcoming 2024/25 season.

“The situation in CS Brazil presents a stark contrast with the previous crop year. Compared to last year, when December/Janu-ary/February rains were approximately 25% above average, this year they are about 30% lower during the same period,” trade house Sucden said in a report issued on Monday.—Reuters

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