Analisys : Coffee may be on high level as higher comsuption and lower supplies

LONDON, March 31 2011 - International Coffee Organization Executive Director Jose Sette said on Thursday that coffee prices may be on high level as its supplies are tight for the rest of the year.

Arabica coffee prices rose to the highest level in 34 years earlier this month with supplies struggling to keep pace with rising demand for the commodity.

ICO has revised its estimate for world coffee consumption in 2010. First, ICO estimated the consumption in 2011 was about 132.5 million, but the latest, the body estimates to 134 million (60-kg) bags.

Global coffee consumption in 2009 was estimated at 131.2 million, virtually unchanged from a year earlier.

In other side, according to ICO data, coffee stocks in producing countries at the beginning of the 2010/11 crop year were at the lowest level since it began keeping records in 1965.----

( Forecast and analisys ): US COFFEE AND COCOA market close for today, March 31, 2011

Coffee:

- May arabica coffee futures eased 0.65 cent to settled at $2.6415 per lb.

- Market extends correction from recent rally to 32-year high.

- For the quarter, arabica coffee is up 9.83 percent.

- For Thursday's session, Cordier said activity in bean futures "looks pretty dismal."

- Market fundamentals still seen as bullish due to shortage of high quality washed arabica beans.

Q1 ended , Arabica up 9,8 %, on worried supplies

NEW YORK, March 31, 2011 - In the first quarter , Arabica coffee futures is higher 9.83 percent as tight supplies of high quality washed arabica beans sparked a rally in the market to a 32-year high.

The key May arabica coffee contract ended Thursday at $2.6415 per lb, down 0.65 cent on the day, but the market is up 9.83 percent compared from the end-2010 to close at $2.405. ----

First Quarter ( Q1 ) For NY Cocoa: down 2.7 %

NEW YORK, March 31, 2011 - U.S. cocoa futures ended the first quarter of 2011 on Thursday by falling 2.7 percent from the previous quarter, posting its first quarterly loss since the second quarter of 2010.

The benchmark May cocoa contract on ICE Futures U.S. fell $35 to end at $2,952 per tonne. That is down 2.7 percent from the end of the 4th quarter of 2010 when it finished at $3,035 per tonne.----

Forecast for Cocoa : Cocoa may fall again as Quattara almost took control San Pedro

Forces loyal to Alassane Ouattara, have marched into the major cocoa port of San Pedro.San Pedro is a strategically important town because it ships half the cocoa beans from the world's top cocoa grower.

The witnesses said that  shooting erupted in the town overnight on Wednesday. One said he thought pro-Ouattara forces had already seized control of San Pedro's airport although this could not be independently confirmed.

The witnesses also told that shooting started at around 9 pm (2100 GMT) then the rebels' vehicles drive into the town.

The disputed election that was meant to draw a line under a 2002-3 civil war has instead reignited it, as rebels who control the northern half of the country and now back Ouattara advance south into Gbagbo's territory from all sides.

Pro-Quattara forces seized the official capital Yamoussoukro on Wednesday, and they have advanced thousands of miles in the east towards the main city of Abidjan, where analysts expect the fiercest battles will be.

Earlier, Captain Leon Alla, a defence spokesman for Ouattara, said his forces took control of Sinfra on Tuesday and Bouafle and Soubre, 130km north of San Pedro, on Wednesday.

Residents of Tiebisso, 40km north of the capital, also reported fighting.

Ouattara's prime minister Guillaume Soro told French radio Gbagbo had just "hours" to leave power peacefully.------

( Forecast and analisys ): US Coffee market close for today, March 30, 2011

01:39 31Mar11 -NY cocoa down to 2-1/2 month low, sugar and coffee up

NEW YORK, March 30, 2011 - U.S. Arabica coffee and raw sugar futures moved higher in a modest reboun.

-May arabica coffee futures closed higher 3.35 cents to   $2.648 per lb.

- Market rebounds on investor short-covering.
  

-The fundamentals for coffee remain comparatively good.
 

- Those fundamentals supporting bean futures are mainly because of the
shortage of high quality washed arabica beans.
 

- Roaster demand staying weak and putting pressure on bean values.------

( Analisys and forecast ) :NY Cocoa Market Close Review for today, March 30, 2011

NEW YORK/LONDON, March 30, 2011 - U.S. cocoa  futures  fell to a 2-1/2 month low  as investors waited increased prospects for a resolution to the power struggle in Ivory Coast, which could free up exports from the world's top cocoa grower.

Volume in U.S. cocoa futures was double the 30-day norm. Players decreased their long position as Alassane Ouattara seems to be gaining the upperhand over incumbent Laurent Gbagbo.

COCOA PRICE FOR TODAY ( UPDATE) : Cocoa London declined sharply on worried supply

March 30, 2011 -- Cocoa declined to the lowest level in 2 1/2 months in Liffe on speculation  supplies from the Ivory Coast.

Local fighters that's loyal to Alassane Ouattara, the internationally recognized winner of the West African nation's Nov. 28 presidential election, moved closer to the commercial capital, Abidjan, where beans are exported. 

They have handed at least five towns this week and moved to within 240 kilometers (149 miles) of Abidjan, said Meite Sindou, spokesman for Ouattara's prime minister and defense minister, Guillaume Soro.

ICE cocoa : margin hikes

NEW YORK, March 30 - ICE Futures U.S. said on Tuesday it will raise the margin requirement for cocoa futures by 6.7 percent effective March 31, the fourth such hike in four months.

The exchange raised the margin requirement for cocoa futures and cleared-only cocoa, by $100 to $1,600 per contract, it said in a notice.

It raised the margins by $50 to $750 for cocoa intra spread T1-T2 and cleared-only cocoa intra spread T1-T2.

The new margins for juice were lowered by $500, or 32 percent, to $1,050 per contract, the exchange said in a notice.

The exchange will also raise margin requirements for sugar No. 11 calendar spread options by $150 to $550, and sugar No. 16 intra spreads by $800 to $1,500. The new margin for the CCI Index is up $4,500 at $11,500.

VIETNAM : Speculants still hold limitted domestic supply, wait price rebounds

HANOI, March 29, 2011 -  Some traders in Vietnam said taht they still hold the tight domestic supply even the price has dropped nearly 6 percent on  this week. They (speculants) still wait the price rebounds.

Most coffee farmers have sold out their stocks to export firms and buying agents, who are better financed and often hold back beans for speculation, as Vietnam has nearly ended the first half of its 2010/2011 coffee crop.

NY Coffee, Cocoa & Sugar market close review for today, March 29, 2011 ( little forecast for march 30, 2011 )

NEW YORK, March 29, 2011 - U.S. cocoa declined sharply on closing and hit   a two-month low on Tuesday.  It is the heaviest volume traded in seven week.  The price began to fall after toching the  key technical level and as rebels in top grower Ivory Coast appeared on track to reach a key export port there.

Arabica coffee also closed lower, on chart-based pressure after falling below its head-and-shoulders pattern, while raw sugar reversed to settle slightly lower.

RAW SUGAR

- May contract of raw sugar finished down 0.03 cent at 27.02 cents per lb.

Ivory Coast rains support abundant midcrop cocoa

ABIDJAN, March 28, 2011 - Ivory Coast's main cocoa growing regions last week saw plenty rainfall and mixed with sunny weather, which could boost the quality and the size of the forthcoming mid-crop, farmers and analysts said on Monday.

The October-to-March main crop in Ivory Coast has just ended and farmers are eyeing the April-to-September midcrop, which is expected to be abundant and of good quality compared with last season.

Liffe Coffe market close review

* Liffe July cocoa ends 8 pounds higher at 2,113  pounds a tonne. Market supported by heavy fighting in a cocoa-producing area of western Ivory Coast.
 

* Liffe May white sugar falls $10.20 to close at $701.60 a tonne. An improving outlook for the harvest in top producer Brazil contributed to market weakness.
 

* Liffe May robusta coffee ends $43 lower at $2,561 a tonne. Market weighed by technically-driven losses in ICE arabica coffee futures. *****

BRUSSELS, March 28, 2011 - European Union governments are preparing possible harsher sanctions against Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo to try to force the incumbent leader to relinquish power, EU diplomats said.

Pressure is growing for more international measures against Gbagbo, who claimed victory in a November poll despite U.N.-certified results showing he lost.

FACTBOX-CFTC's rules on commodity position limits

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission closes the 60-day comment period on Monday on its proposal to cap the number of speculative contracts traders can hold in a range of commodity markets.

The rule, proposed in December 2010, generated about 4,000 comments. Most were in favor of the proposal, but many of the industry's biggest names have said the proposed position limits would reduce liquidity and make it harder to hedge risk.

Ouattara forces open two new fronts in Ivory Coast

ABIDJAN, March 28, 2011 - Former rebels controlling the north of Ivory Coast opened up two new fronts on Monday, and heavy clashes broke out in a western cocoa-producing area as a bid to force incumbent Laurent Gbagbo from power escalated.

Rebels who seized the north in the 2002-3 civil war and now back Alassane Ouattara, Gbagbo's rival and the man recognised as president by most world leaders, on Monday advanced on Duekoue, which had previously remained under Gbagbo's control.

Ivorian cocoa arrivals grind to a near halt

ABIDJAN, March 28 (Reuters) - Cocoa arrivals in top grower Ivory Coast were grinding to a halt from the week from March 14 to March 20, with just 17 tonnes reaching its two at ports in that period, compared with 8,525 tonnes in the same week of the previous season.

Only 3,393 beans were declared by exporters at the ports of Abidjan and San Pedro for that week, which brought the total arrivals to 1,040,591 tonnes by March 20, according to data from the Coffee and Cocoa Bourse (BCC) seen by Reuters on Monday.

Ivorian cocoa arrivals at 1,040,591 T by March 20-BCC

ABIDJAN, March 28, 2011 - Cocoa arrivals at ports in top grower Ivory Coast reached 1,040,591 tonnes by March 20, up from 878,679 tonnes in the same period a year ago, according to data from the Coffee and Cocoa Bourse (BCC) seen by Reuters on Monday.

The figures showed around 3,393 beans were declared by exporters at the ports of Abidjan and San Pedro from March 14 to March 20 -- all except 17 tonnes of them were late declarations from previous weeks.

The figure was down from 8,525 tonnes declared in the same week of the 2009/2010 season.------

NY Coffee, Cocoa & Sugar market close review for today, March 28, 2011

NEW YORK, March 28 (Reuters) - Raw sugar futures settled lower on Monday, pressured by a weak commodity complex and as Libyan rebels advanced toward an important military base, while arabica coffee also finished lower.

U.S. cocoa inched higher in thin dealings as dealers were uncertain whether the Ivorian export ban would be lifted this week. Volume was light in all three markets.

RAW SUGAR

* Benchmark May raw sugar contract dropped 0.81 cent  or 3 percent to finish at 27.05 cents per lb.

Nestlé: getting closer to farmers

As the world’s biggest food producer, Nestlé is grappling with giant-sized versions of two challenges faced by every one of its peers: high commodity prices and the management of complex supply chains, which are extending ever deeper into emerging markets.

Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, the company’s chairman, told beyondbrics that part of its solution is to build direct relationships with individual farmers across Africa, Asia and Latin America. It already has ties with 600,000 small farmers and it wants to double the proportion of coffee and cocoa they supply over the next five years from its current 7-10 per cent range.

DTN-Indonesia and Malaysia Cocoa Coffee Weather

As of 22:01 GMT, 27 MAR 2011

NDONESIA

SUMMARY- Periods of rain, showers and thundershowers over the weekend,0.10-2.00+ inches (3-51+ mm). Temperatures 77-94F (25-34C).

FORECAST-

TODAY...Numerous showers and thundershowers, rainfall amounts 0.10-1.50+ inches (3-38+ mm). Temperatures 78-94F (26-35C).

TONIGHT...Showers diminish overnight.

Coffee is not good beverages for those people

As we all know, coffee, tea and cocoa are three primary drinks in the planet. In the western countries, coffee has at minimum 3-hundred years of heritage. Most folks know the shepherd tale which is about the origin of coffee. In the sixteenth century, early traders introduced coffee as a beverage to the westerner's day-to-day existence. Therefore, individuals from The united states and Canada love coffee than other drinks. But coffee is not a drink agreed with everyone.

Do you know the strengths of coffee even you drink it every day? It is well-acknowledged that coffee has the refreshment effect. When you are out of spirit, you could drink a cup of coffee to refresh your brain. It will make you really feel reenergized. That is simply because coffee beans represent a huge source of caffeine which can acts on the central nervous technique to elicit stimulating results. And coffee can help to avert cirrhosis and gallstones. When you get a headache, it is great to drink a coffee. A analysis demonstrates in India demonstrates that coffee can defend your wellness from the hurt of radiation.

Indonesia cocoa output seen flat at 600,000 T in 2011

JAKARTA, March 26, 2011 - Cocoa output in Indonesia, the world's third-largest cocoa producer, will be flat this year as increased output from new planting offsets the impact of heavy rains, the Indonesian Cocoa Association said on Friday.

Indonesia produced around 600,000 tonnes of cocoa last year, as extreme weather caused by La Nina hit the archipelago, and the association had forecast in January that heavy rains would cause output to be 5 percent lower in 2011.

"This year it will be about the same," Zulhefi Sikumbang, chairman of an association known as Askindo, told Reuters. "Because of the rainy season...about a 10 percent production drop, but we still have new planting coming."

Nigeria mid crop cocoa get boost from good weathet

LAGOS, March 26, 2011 - A mix of rainfall and sunshine in Nigeria's main cocoa growing regions in the last two months has helped the mid crop develop and lowered the risk of damp-related plant diseases, farmers and buyers said on Friday.

The October-March main crop ends next week and good weather has made Nigerian farmers upbeat that the smaller mid crop, which begins in late April will be robust.

Ivorian cocoa prices continue slide on export halt

ABIDJAN, March 26, 2011 - Cocoa prices fell at farms across Ivory Coast in the latest week as an ongoing export halt from the nation's ports thinned out buyers.

In the centre-west region of Daloa, which produces a quarter of the Ivory Coast harvest, farmers said the farmgate price had slipped to 300 CFA/kg ($0.642) from 300-400 CFA/kg last week.

"The prices are catastrophically low," said farmer Marcel Aka, adding growers were tending subsistence crops on spare ground, while delaying the harvest of ripe mid-crop cocoa.

NY Coffee, Cocoa & Sugar Market Close Review for today, March 25, 2011

NY sugar, coffee and cocoa end firm, thinly traded

NEW YORK, March 25, 2011 - Raw sugar futures closed strong on Friday, in thin dealings and on a lift from speculative buying as ethanol mills began to crush in Brazil's center-south region.

Cocoa and coffee also climbed quietly to settle higher.

The opening hours will return to normal March 28, after a temporary one-hour delay over the past two weeks due to the seasonal time change.

RAW SUGAR

* The benchmark May raw sugar contract rose 0.41 cent to close  at 27.86 cents per lb.
 

* On the week, the market is up 0.05 percent.

Robusta coffee May premium climbs as market rises

NEW YORK/LONDON, March 25, 2011 - Coffee prices rose on Friday, with the robusta market focused on the widening premium for May over July, reflecting concern about how much coffee will be available for delivery.

Sugar prices also advanced as the market eyed the impact of rains on crop prospects in top producer Brazil while commercial buying helped cocoa futures close strong. Dealings were light across the board.

"(Robusta) certified stocks will go up fairly substantially if the premium stays," one dealer said.

Vietnam March coffee exports up 22 pct, above forecast

HANOI, March 25, 2011 - Vietnam's March coffee exports rose an estimated 22 percent from the same month last year to 150,000 tonnes, or 2.5 million bags, exceeding market expectations and offering relief over delivery shortages.

Coffee shipments in February were revised up to 144,000 tonnes, or 2.4 million 60-kg bags, up 87 percent from the same month in 2010, the General Statistics Office said on Friday. It previously estimated loading of 90,000 tonnes for February.

The office also revised up sharply coffee exports in January to 215,500 tonnes from a revision last month of 145,000 tonnes. It gave no explanation for the increase.

Asia Coffee-Vietnamese exporters delay shipments

JAKARTA, March 25, 2011 - Some coffee exporters have delayed shipments of Vietnam's robusta beans to avoid losses after fixing prices too low, while concern about a small harvest have kept Indonesian traders on the sidelines, dealers said on Friday.

London's May robusta coffee contract hit a 3-year peak of $2,661 a tonne last week on a possible shortage of available supplies to deliver against the May contract but it has eased to $2,608 a tonne on Friday.
 

"We are hearing serious delay from exporters who have fixed contracts because the prices were set $2,000 a tonne while London's price is already above $2,500 a tonne," said a regional trader in Singapore.
 

"Some international trading houses have not received shipments for their contracts because of this," the trader said.

ANALYSIS-Colombia rains risk new jolt for coffee prices

BOGOTA, March 25, 2011 - Bright sun in main Colombia coffee areas has boosted flowering -- a key process for predicting the main harvest at the end of 2011 -- and helped stress trees to break the dormancy of flower buds in the world's top producer of high quality Arabica beans.

Trouble is, there are dark clouds on the horizon threatening the crop with as much as three times more rain as usual over the next few months. Hail could kill the fruits or knock beans from trees; landslides could wipe out trees.

Tanzania coffee prices fall on low demand, quality

DAR ES SALAAM, March 25, 2011 - Tanzania's coffee prices fell at this week's auction, weighed down by slacking demand on poor quality beans and tracking lower prices in the global market, traders said on Friday.

Supply of top-grade coffee beans is declining as Tanzania's harvest season for the crop edges towards its end.

"Coffee prices declined both on poor quality as we arereally drawing to the end of the season, and the terminal marketalso came off," said a trader at a leading coffee exportingcompany in Tanzania.

Coffee Adds Health Benefit

In January 2010 a study found that coffee drinkers benefited by having less risk of having prostrate and endometrial cancer. A new study adds a new notch to coffee’s belt… Coffee drinkers have a lower risk of stroke.

Susanna Larsson a Swedish researcher with the Stockholm Karolinska Institute studied women coffee drinkers. Her findings were that those who drink more than a cup a day have a quarter of the risk of suffering a stroke as compared to those who drink less than a cup. The report was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association (AHA).

Coffee prices rise, May robusta premium widens

LONDON, March 25, 2011 - Coffee prices rose on Friday with the robusta market focused on the widening premium for May over July, reflecting concern about how much coffee will be available for delivery.

Sugar prices eased as the market eyed crop prospects in top producer Brazil while cocoa futures were mostly flat.

"Coffee is still bubbling away with the May/July. For the time being the jury and personally I am leaving it alone," one London-based coffee dealer said.

May robusta's premium to July rose to more than $170 a tonne, up from around $120-140 on Thursday, although it remain shy of its peak late last week of more than $200.

AFRICAN UNION'S PING SAYS FEARS IVORY COAST IS CLOSE TO CIVIL WAR

PARIS, March 25, 2011 - Ivory Coast is dangerously close to falling into civil war, the chairman of the African Union, Jean Ping, warned on Thursday.

"We tried to get an agreement," said Ping, speaking to reporters in Paris. "We continue to try but the civil war is almost there."

Ping said the tentative agreement had been rejected by incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo but accepted by his challenger, Alassane Ouattara.

Some 462 people have been killed since a disputed November election, which was claimed by Gbagbo despite U.N. certified results showing he lost to Ouattara.********

LIFFE certified cocoa stocks rise

LONDON, March 24, 2011 - NYSE Liffe said on Thursday that valid cocoa stocks in its nominated warehouses as of March 21 were 7,544 10-tonne Standard Delivery Units (SDUs) and 668 Large Delivery Units (LDUs).

According to the data, there were 20 valid 1,000-tonne Bulk Delivery Units (BDUs) in stock.

Valid SDUs increased by 500 in the two-week period, while valid LDUs rose by 37. Valid BDU's increased by nine.-----

Ivorian cocoa prices continue slide on export halt

ABIDJAN, March 24, 2011 - Cocoa prices fell at farms across Ivory Coast in the latest week as an ongoing export halt from the nation's ports thinned out buyers.

In the centre-west region of Daloa, which produces a quarter of the Ivory Coast harvest, farmers said the farmgate price hadslipped to 300 CFA/kg ($0.642) from 300-400 CFA/kg last week.

"The prices are catastrophically low," said farmer Marcel Aka, adding growers were tending subsistence crops on spareground, while delaying the harvest of ripe mid-crop cocoa.

Forecast and review market close : NY COFFEE, COCOA & SUGAR for today, March 24, 2011

02:01 25Mar11 -SOFTS-Sugar surges on Brazil rains, others stumble

* Brazil rains disrupting early 2011/12 cane harvest

* Pressure mounts on U.N. to stop violence in Ivory Coast

NEW YORK/LONDON, March 24, 2011 - Sugar futures bounded higher on Thursday on concern about delays to the harvest in top producer Brazil, but cocoa fell and coffee wound up mixed.

"Since the second half of February, cloudy and rainy conditions have also affected cane growth and this, added tothe drought damage suffered at the end of last season, may have a negative impact on productivity at the start of the harvesting season," Sucden Financial said in a market note.

Intermezo -- time to relax-- Coffee Ice cream

Ingredients:

* 1-3/4 cups milk;

* 1-3/4 cups cream;

* 4 tablespoons cornstarch;

* 2/3 cup sugar;

* 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder;

* 3 tbsp instant-coffee granules or espresso granules;

* 2 tsp vanilla.

Method: Stir together 1/2 cup milk and cornstarch. Whisk together sugar, cocoa, cream and remaining 1-1/4 cups milk in a small heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring. Whisk in coffee granules. 

Stir cornstarch mixture again and whisk into coffee mixture. Return to a boil, whisking, then remove from heat. Add vanilla to saucepan, stirring. Set saucepan in a large bowl of ice water to cool, whisking frequently. F

reeze coffee mixture in ice-cream maker. Transfer to an airtight container and store in freezer. More????

Foreign businessmen scrambling to collect coffee

VietNamNet Bridge – Foreign businessmen are jumping on the bandwagon, scrambling to purchase coffee with Vietnamese businessmen. Analysts have warned that once foreign businessmen control the market, they will force collection prices down, thus making farmers suffer.

Van Thanh Huy, General Director of Inexim Daklak Company, complained that there is an unhealthy competition in collecting coffee from farmers.

Huy related that when the new crop began, Inexim Daklak spent money to help 100 households in Cu M’gar district in Daklak province to grow 100 hectares of coffee. 

Farmers were given technical guidance, a variety of coffee and received advanced money to pay for fertilizer and oil for watering. 

Cocoa Rich in Health Benefits

Cocoa Consumption May Decrease Blood Pressure, Improve Cholesterol, Researchers Say

March 23, 2011 -- Cocoa, used throughout history as a folk medicine, may actually have significant health benefits, according to a new study by Harvard researchers.

Their analysis of 21 studies with 2,575 participants shows that cocoa consumption is associated with decreased blood pressure, improved blood vessel health, and improvement in cholesterol levels, among other benefits.

Weather, bad crops pushing price higher for coffee lovers

Your morning jolt of java is about to get more expensive -- if it hasn't already.

Bad weather, bad crops and bearish commodity traders have piled on prices that already were the highest in decades to the point retailers say they have no choice but to pass the cost on to you.

Starbucks, along with the makers of Maxwell House and Folgers, among others, raised some prices in the fall. And last week Starbucks announced plans to raise prices it charges retailers for packaged coffee by up to 12 percent to cope with higher costs for beans.

Brazil's Bahia yields best cocoa crop in 15 yrs

SAO PAULO, March 23, 2011 - Brazil's main cocoa state Bahia has gathered the biggest main crop harvest since 1996/97, with favorable weather and better husbandry reducing diseasedamage, local cocoa analyst Thomas Hartmann said on Wednesday.

He said the October-April main crop in the state, had now surpassed 1.2 million 60-kg bags or 72,000 tonnes. The final output figure will continue to rise with another six weeks togo until the end of the season.

NY Coffee Market Close Review For Today, March 23, 2011

NEW YORK, March 23 (Reuters) - Arabica coffee futures closed lower on follow-through weakness on Wednesday.
 

* May arabica coffee futures dropped 4.85 cents to
settle at $2.6860 per lb, an inside day.
 

* Market fell for a second straight day, after failing to breach the 62 percent Fibonacci retracement level at $2.83,  basis May, on Monday, indicating a short-term downtrend -- traders.

NY Cocoa Market Close Review For Today, March 23, 2011

NEW YORK, March 23, 2011 - U.S. cocoa futures finished down a shade in choppy dealings, with commercials taking the opportunity to buy at lower prices.

* Key May cocoa futures fell $12 to settle at $3,251 per tonne.
 

* Market little changed and dealing in thin volume as the cocoa export situation in top grower Ivory Coast, where there was an export ban, remained at a standstill -- traders.

LIFFE COFFEE AND COCOA MARKET CLOSE RIVIEW FOR TODAY, March 23, 2011

* Liffe July cocoa ends 4 pounds higher at 2,089  pounds a tonne. Market boosted by weakness of sterling after the  UK government cut its growth forecasts.
 

* Liffe May robusta coffee ends $31 lower at $2,538  a tonne. Market weighed down by setback in ICE arabicas driven  by bearish charts and a firmer dollar. -----

New Uganda coffee export rules may slow exports

* Exports now have to be inspected at Kenya border

* Traders say this could raise business costs

KAMPALA, March 23, 2011 - New rules on exporting coffee from Uganda could raise business costs and slow down exports, already hit by drought and disease, in Africa's second largest grower.

Coffee exporters said the new procedure requires them to offload their cargo for customs inspection at the border with Kenya. The authorities said the rule was crucial in verifying the goods for export through Kenya's port of Mombasa.

Uganda's coffee exports make up a major source of foreign exchange to the third biggest economy in east Africa.

Rising Coffee Costs May Not Boost Production

NEW ORLEANS – Near-record prices for Arabica beans have not enticed coffee growers to increase production, the Wall Street Journal reports. The cost of coffee has skyrocketed during the past 12 months mostly because of less production.

Kraft Foods Inc., Massimo Zanetti USA and Starbucks Corp. have all hiked prices because of the rapidly rising green bean costs. Arabica coffee futures on IntercontinentalExchange jumped more than 50 percent during the past six months because adverse weather conditions slashed production in countries such as Columbia.

But despite the higher prices for coffee beans, farmers haven’t been quick to plant more fields. Companies that buy green beans have begun paying more to ensure product amounts.

Puratos Group expands chocolate production in Brazil

Floresta do Rio Doce started in May 2010 as the first origin cocoa factory in Brazil. Located in Linhares, the third cocoa plantation region of Brazil, Floresta do Rio Doce marks a new era in the history of Brazilian cocoa plantations. Using processes and technology developed locally, the unit had an initial capacity to grinding 2,500 tons of cocoa beans per year.

With an initial investment of 4 million EURO, Floresta do Rio Doce built the first cocoa liquor production line in a building of 1.500 m² and a land of 40.000 m², close to more than 450 cocoa farms. 

The excellence of the cocoa liquor is guaranteed through all stages of the process, from the plantation of the fruit to the fermentation process on the farm and the industrialization of the final product.

Nestle brand faces 'difficulties' with coffee supply

Food giant Nestle's coffee subsidiary Nespresso is facing supply difficulties due to poor weather conditions affecting some crops, the brand's chief executive said on Wednesday.
 
"Our number one problem at the moment is finding arabica of a quality that are in line with our standards," Richard Girardot told AFP.
 
"We have suffered from unfavourable climatic conditions in Brazil and in Colombia. It's a real handicap," he explained.

Cocoa Arrivals From Brazil’s Bahia State Double, Hartmann Says

Cocoa arrivals from Bahia, Brazil’s biggest growing region, more than doubled from a week earlier, according to analyst Thomas Hartmann.

Deliveries to shippers and processors from Bahia’s growing areas totaled 11,302 bags in the week to March 20, Hartmann wrote in a report dated yesterday. That compares with the 5,107 bags a week earlier. Total arrivals from across Brazil were 32,813 bags, compared with 9,404 bags a week earlier. A bag weighs 60 kilograms (132 pounds).*****

The figures “are somewhat inflated due to the inclusion of quantities that had arrived during the Carnival weeks but only were reported after the transmission of last week’s report,” Hartmann said. Brazil celebrated its annual Carnival festival earlier this month.

Bahia represents almost 80 percent of the country’s cocoa output, and 95 percent of its grindings, according to Hartmann. He is a board member of the Commercial Association of Bahia and is in charge of the group’s statistical service on Brazilian cocoa output.

Hartmann predicted in December that Brazil’s main crop may reach 1.2 million bags.------

NESTLE EXPECTS TO RAISE PRICES BY ABOUT 1.6 PERCENT IN 2011 - CHAIRMAN

NEW YORK, March 22, 2011 - Nestle AG , the world's biggest food maker, expects to raise prices by 1.6 percent in 2011, the company chairman said on Tuesday, similar to last year's increase despite soaring raw material costs.
 

Peter Brabeck-Letmathe told Reuters Insider that the company, which makes Nescafe coffee and Gerber baby food, would spend an extra $3.5 billion on raw materials in 2011, but more than half of that would be absorbed internally.

Ivorian rains help cocoa mid-crop, harvest starts

ABIDJAN, March 22, 2011 - Good rains mixed with lengthy sunny spells last week in Ivory Coast's cocoa regions boded well for the development of the mid-crop about to be harvested, farmersand analysts said.

The October to March main crop is tailing off and all eyes are on the April to September mid-crop.

Many farmers in the bush said harvesting have already started but remained small. Farmers added they were happy with the state of plantations, with many pods of big, small and average size on trees -- although paralysis of the cocoa sector because of Ivory Coast's political crisis continues.

Cocoa exporters say Ivorian export embargo holding

ABIDJAN/LONDON, March 22, 2011 - Cocoa exporters dismissed on Tuesday a media report that some were preparing to resume payment of export taxes to Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo, saying a de facto embargo on shipments was holding.

Gbagbo has refused to step down after a November election, which most of the world says he lost. Alassane Ouattara, the internationally recognised winner, has called for a freeze in cocoa exports to deprive the Gbagbo camp of funds.

NY Cocoa Market Close Review For Today, March 22, 2011

U.S. cocoa futures closed strong, on a small upside correction and a lift from the strong sterling against the dollar.

* Key May cocoa futures rose $74 or 2.3 percent to  finish at $3,263 per tonne.
 

* Market slightly corrected higher from its recent sell-off with a lift from the strong sterling against the U.S. dollar - traders.
 

* May has fallen 18 percent from the 32-year high at $3,775  per tonne on March 4, after the risk premium had been worked into the market on instability in top grower Ivory Coast, and as the May/July spread narrowed as supply fears eased - traders.
 

* Fund liquidation and commercial buying kept the market choppy - traders.
 

* The U.N. peacekeeping mission to Ivory Coast said Laurent Gbagbo's forces were readying an attack helicopter and multiple rocket launchers and condemned the growing use of heavy weapons against civilians. 

* Good rains mixed with lengthy sunny spells last week in  Ivory Coast's cocoa regions boded well for the development of  the mid-crop about to be harvested - farmers, analysts. *****

NY Coffee Market Close Review For Today, March 22, 2011

NY Arabica coffee  finished weak, on chart-based selling and a lack of near-term demand.

* May arabica coffee futures tumbled 3.55 cents to  finish at $2.7345 per lb.
 

* Market fell on technical selling after failing to breach  the 62 percent Fibonacci retracement level at $2.83, basis May, on Monday, indicating a short-term downtrend - traders.
 

* "Right now there's no short-term demand for coffee.  There's coffee being offered in Central America and nobody's  buying." - Nick Gentile, chief trading officer at Atlantic  Capital Advisors in Jersey City.
 

* Market pressured by a lack of fund participation and roaster buying, although tight supplies were still considered underpinning the market in the long-term - traders.*******

LIFFE COFFEE AND COCOA MARKET CLOSE RIVIEW FOR TODAY

* Liffe July cocoa ends 34 pounds higher at 2,085  pounds a tonne. Market beginning to rebound, with industry buying emerging following the recent slide in values, which saw  the second position hit a two-month low of 1,994 pounds on
Monday.
 

* Liffe May robusta coffee ends $44 lower at $2,569  a tonne. Market slipping back from a three-year high set late  last week but remains underpinned by tight supplies. ******

Tanzania sees lower 2011/12 coffee crop on drought

AR ES SALAAM, March 22 , 2011 - Tanzania expects its 2011/12 (June/April) coffee crop to drop by 18 percent to 45,000 tonnes, hurt by drought in many growing areas of the east African producer, regulator Tanzania Coffee Board (TCB) said on Tuesday.

The board expects production to come in at 56,000 tonnes in the 2010/11 season, 1,000 tonnes above its earlier forecast, and compared with 36,000 tonnes of the previous crop year.

"Prolonged dry weather in some coffee growing regions of Tanzania has affected the flowering of coffee trees," Adolph Kumburu, TCB's chief executive, told Reuters.

COFFEE AND COCOA PRICE FOR TODAY ( UPDATE ) : Coffee eases on bearish indicators, cocoa edges up

LONDON, March 22, 2011 - Coffee prices eased on Tuesday, with arabicas retreating further from a 34-year high earlier this month, weighed down by bearish technical indicators.

Cocoa prices rose, boosted by a pick-up in industry demand following a recent setback in prices, while sugar futures were mostly steady.

May arabica coffee on ICE dipped 0.80 cents or 0.3 percent to $2.7620 per lb by 1127 GMT, while July eased 1.15 cents to $2.78.

Ivory Coast Violence May Destabilise Region

Thousands of young supporters have offered to join Ivory Coast's army and fight for its incumbent president, amid fears the continuing violence may destabilise West Africa.

Leader Laurent Gbagobo is refusing to quit office despite UN-backed results showing his rival Alassane Ouattara won last November's election.

Mr Gbagobo's supporters packed into a stadium in the main city of Abidjan to sign up for the army, chanting "we will kill them now" and "the rebels will die".

Vietnam Coffee-Sales moderate, Indonesia beans eyed

HANOI, March 22, 2011 - Vietnamese coffee prices have risen more than 5 percent in the past week, tracking higher prices in London, but sales were moderate as buyers looked at fresh beans from rival robusta producer Indonesia, traders said.

"Prices in Indonesia are competitive so buyers are looking there," a trader at a foreign company in Ho Chi Minh City said.

Robusta in Indonesia was stable in the week ending March 21 at $2,420-$2,440 a tonne, free-on-board (FOB) Lampung, even though the harvest this year is forecast to drop 30 percent from 600,000 tonnes in 2010.

NY Cocoa Market Close Review For Today, March 21, 2011

New York, March 21, 2011-- Cocoa futures rebounded Monday after tumbling last week to a 2-month low on modest short-covering as the trade mulled whether the simmering conflict in top producer Ivory Coast will be resolved.

* Key May cocoa futures climbed $62 to finish at  $3,189 per tonne.
 

* On Friday, the contract dropped $155 or by 4.72 percent to close at $3,127 per tonne, the lowest settlement since Jan. 20, according to Thomson Reuters data.

NY Coffee Market Close Review For Today, March 21, 2011

NEW YORK, March 21 (Reuters) - U.S. arabica coffee futures climbed in similarly low-volume business.

* May arabica coffee futures added 0.80 cent to conclude at $2.77 per lb.
 

* Tight supplies of high quality washed arabica beans kept market supported - brokers.
 

* Business was light though, with total volume traded in arabicas of 11,500 lots about 50 percent below the 30-day norm, Thomson Reuters data.
 

* "We had a little bit of a pop, but it was slow and there's not a whole lot to hang our hat on," a dealer said. ******

Cocoa up on short-covering as Ivorian outlook murky

NEW YORK/LONDON, March 21, 2011 - Cocoa futures climbedon Monday on investor buying after last week's steep sell-offand the trade mulled if the virtual civil war in top cocoagrower Ivory Coast could be resolved at all, analysts said.

The softs complex continued to carefully monitor the outbreak of fighting in Libya and the disaster in Japan.

Liffe Robusta and cocoa market close review for today, 21 march 2011

Liffe coffee ends higher, May premium widens:

* Liffe May robusta coffee ends $17 higher at $2,613 a tonne. May's premium to July widened, buoyed by tightness in available deliverable supplies.

* Liffe July cocoa ends 43 pounds higher at 2,051 pounds a tonne. Market continues to be underpinned by conflict in top grower Ivory Coast.*****

NEW ORLEANS, March 21, 2011 - Young American adults have increased the amount of coffee they drink daily in 2011, after feeling better about their finances following the global economic crisis, a survey showed on Saturday.

Forty percent of the 18- to 24-year-olds who responded to the National Coffee Association's National Coffee Drinking Trends 2011 survey said they are drinking coffee daily, compared with 31 percent in 2010.

This brought the daily coffee consumption of this age group back to levels reached in 2009, the survey showed.

"2010 was troubling for younger consumers. That's rebounded in 2011. It shows the industry is able to respond," said Michael Edwards, managing partner with ART Marketing Insight, which was involved in the survey.

NEW ORLEANS, March 21, 2011 - Starbucks Coffee Co said on Friday it would raise the price of its packaged coffee by an average of 12 percent after its Chief Executive Howard Schultz once again blamed speculators for pushing coffee prices higher.
 

"I think it's artificial. I think financial speculation has really stepped into the market," Schultz said, adding that coffee drinkers would not "respond positively" to higher prices.
 

"I think it's a very hard dialogue with the consumer, face to face, as we have to as a retailer, when in fact there probably isn't a substantive answer," Schultz said.
 

Shares of Starbucks, the world's biggest coffee shop chain, closed down 13 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $34.96.
 

The price increase will affect Starbucks and Seattle's Best Coffee brands, It is the company's first price increase on grocery packaged coffee since March 2008.
Starbucks raised prices last year on some drinks in its cafes.

INTERVIEW-Massimo Zanetti hikes coffee prices

* Massimo Zanetti raises coffee prices by about 12 pct

* Price hike effective March 16

NEW ORLEANS, March 20, 2011 - Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA has joined other U.S. roasters and passed along costs for its coffee after the beans soared to a 34-year high, the company's second hike in three months, a spokesman told Reuters on Saturday.

"The percentage basis was around 12 percent and we felt that was very much consistent with what we're seeing as the sustained increases in the coffee market," John Boyle, chief operating officer for Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA, said on the sidelines of the National Coffee Association meeting in New Orleans.

Coffee & Cocoa Close Market Review, March 18, 2011

NY cocoa sinks late on Gbagbo talk, sugar/coffee up :  NEW YORK, March 18 (Reuters) - U.S. cocoa futures endedFriday at a two-month low after talk that Ivory Coast's LaurentGbagbo may be open to negotiations to quit the presidency, which could allow beans from the top producer to reach the market.

COFFEE
* May arabica coffee futures increased 5.30 cents to  conclude at $2.762 per lb.
 

* On the week, the arabica market was up 0.65 percent.

Robusta coffee soars to 3-yr high, Japan eyed

NEW YORK/LONDON,  - Robusta futures charged up a 3-year peak Thursday as a shortage of deliverable supplies in the London coffee market stoked a rally which crossed the sea to New York arabica futures.

Sugar surged due to increased cash buying and cocoa was propped up by the violent power struggle which has virtually stopped bean exports in top cocoa producer Ivory Coast.

London's May robusta futures jumped $128 or by 5.15 percent to close at $2,615 per tonne, having hit a lifetime and 3-year top of $2,661. New York's May arabica coffee contract rose 5.55 cents to close at $2.709 a lb.

COFFEE AND COCOA FORECAST FOR TODAY AND YESTERDAY'S MARKET CLOSE REVIEW

NEW YORK,  - Raw sugar, arabica coffee and cocoa futures finished higher on Thursday as the marketextended gains after heavy liquidation this week caused by the nuclear crisis in earthquake-hit Japan.

COFFEE
* May arabica coffee futures rose 5.55 cents to end at $2.709 per lb.
 

* Analysts said the rise was inspired by a rally in the London robusta market to its highest in three years.
 

* Scoville said strong London values hoisted New York "up along with it".

COFFEE AND COCOA FORECAST FOR TODAY AND YESTERDAY'S MARKET CLOSE REVIEW

    NEW YORK, March 17, 2011 - Arabica coffee futures closed higher Wednesday as the market staged a modest rebound after a selling spree sparked by the nuclear plant emergency in Japan which was already reeling from a killerquake and tsunami.

    But cocoa futures were hit by late investor selling to close near an eight-week low.

    COFFEE

    * May arabica coffee futures <KCc2> increased 2.40 cents toconclude at $2.6535 per lb.

Brazil further curtails foreign land purchases

BRASILIA, March 17, 2011 - Brazil has closed a legal loophole used by foreigners to buy farm land, a change of rules that is fueling uncertainty among agricultural investors in one of the world's leading food exporters.

"We simply applied the law," Attorney-General Luis Inacio Adams told Reuters on Wednesday. "Foreigners can buy land up to a certain limit and they can create (minority) partnerships with Brazilians."

-Kenya to reintroduce robusta coffee variety

NAIROBI, March 17, 2011 - Kenya is poised to reintroduce robusta coffee this year in areas that do not normally grow the commodity, and possibly build a factory to process the beans once volumes are substantial, the country's regulator said.

East Africa's biggest economy stopped producing the bean variety almost three decades ago after production plummeted when farmers cut back growing of robusta due to low earnings compared with the arabica variety for which Kenya is renowned.

Liffee Cocoa tumble in commodities sell-off

* Liffe May robusta coffee ends down $15 at $2,375 a tonne. Prices slide along with other commodity markets after a  huge earthquake and tsunami struck Japan.
 

* Liffe May cocoa ends down 63 pounds at 2,121 pounds a tonne, caught up in the sell-off in commodities. *********

COFFEE FORECAST TODAY & Yesterday's MARKET CLOSE REVIEW

NEW YORK, March 15 (Reuters) - Soft commodities trading on ICE Futures U.S. tumbled across the board Tuesday on continued risk aversion as thethird biggest consumer Japan's nuclear crisis grew.

Arabica futures closed down for the fourth straight day at a one-month low, falling further from last week's 34-year high. Raw sugar closed down 7.7 percent at a 5-month low and cocoa finished at the lowest level in 5 weeks.

COFFEE
* May arabica coffee futures tumbled to close down 10.35 cents,  or 3.8 percent, at $2.6295 per lb, its lowest settlement since Feb. 16.
 

* Market tumbled in heavy volume, as risk aversion hit the commodity  complex - traders.
 

* Market viewed as due for a correction lower, after hitting a 34-year  high last week at $2.9665 per lb, basis second position - traders.
 

* If May closes below $2.60 will indicate an end to the recent uptrend  - traders.
 

* Tight global supplies of washed arabica beans continue to be seen as  a bullish factor and underpinning support - traders.
 

* Coffee stocks, already at the lowest levels since the International  Coffee Organization began keeping records in 1965, may fall further - ICO  Chief Economist Denis Seudieu.
 

COCOA
* Benchmark May cocoa futures sank $134, or 4 percent, to close  at $3,255, the lowest settlement since Feb. 7.
 

* May narrowed significantly to close at a $9 premium to July ,  from $30 the previous session.
 

* Market tumbled in heavy volume on pressure from the macroeconomic  picture that caused long liquidation across the commodity complex -  traders.
 

* A closely followed, independent analyst released a global supply  report projecting a huge global supply surplus of nearly 200,000 tonnes, may have added additional pressure - dealers.
 

* Gunmen shot dead four people near a roadblock run by youth supporters
of Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo in the Abidjan suburb of Deux Plateau -  witnesses.
 

* Swiss premium chocolate maker Lindt & Spruengli said strong demand for its Lindor pralines and gold foil-wrapped Easter bunnies meant  it was aiming for 2011 sales growth of 6-8 percent in local currencies. *****