Raw sugar drops more than 3%; cocoa tumbles to five-week low

NEW YORK/LONDON — Raw sugar futures on ICE fell more than 3% on Friday to a threeweek low, weighed by an improving outlook for crops in India and Pakistan and macroeconomic factors, while cocoa prices also fell following declines in North American and Asian grindings.

SUGAR: May raw sugar settled down 0.63 cent or 3.2% at 19.24 cents per pound (lb) after sliding to a three-week low of 19.21 cents.

Dealers said stronger-thanexpected production in the Indian subcontinent could lead to a small global sugar surplus in the current 2021/22 season.

A Reuters poll issued on February had a consensus of a global deficit of 1.25 million tons in 2021/22.

Dealers cited fund liquidation in a risk-off movement as the Federal Reserve is poised to follow a half-of-a-percentage-point interest rate hike in May with two bigger rate hikes.

Brazil’s sugar production is projected to grow 2.9% in the new season to 36.37 million tons as fields partially recover from unfavorable weather in the previous crop, the USDA said.

August white sugar fell $10.60 or 2.0% to $530.50 a ton. COCOA: July New York cocoa fell $38 or 1.5% to $2,554 a ton after dipping to a five-week low of $2,516.

North American cocoa grindings fell in the first quarter of 2022 to 114,694 tons, down 2.77% from the same period a year earlier, the National Confectioners Association (NCA) said.

Asia’s first quarter cocoa grind dipped 0.25% year on year to 213,313 tons, data from the Cocoa Association of Asia showed on Friday.

July London cocoa fell £18 or 1.0% to £1,770 per ton.

COFFEE: July arabica coffee fell 0.95 cent or 0.4% at $2.2715 per lb, after surging by nearly 4% on Thursday.

Dealers noted that the Brazilian currency suffered a strong devaluation on Friday, falling 3.5% against the dollar, a factor that might have attracted selling from farmers in the world’s largest grower.

Dealers noted, however, that it remained dry in most coffee regions of Brazil, potentially reducing bean size, although there may be some rains in Parana during the next few days.

July robusta coffee gained $2 or 0.1% at $2,116 a ton.