UPDATE Coffee, sugar slide in commodity sell-off after quake

* Japan quake, tsunami send oil, metals skidding

* Cocoa market buoyed by fears over Ivorian supplies

* Coffee prices underpinned by shortage of arabica beans

  

March 11 (Reuters) - Coffee fell from near a 34-year high and sugar and cocoa futures slid with other commodities after a huge earthquake and tsunami struck Japan on Friday.

The disaster pounded commodities markets, sending oil and metals prices skidding on worries about the impact on the world's third largest consumer of commodities.Coffee, sugar and cocoa futures fell with grains.

"Everything (commodities) will be down because of this quake in Japan," said Romain Lathiere, fund manager with Swiss-based Diapason Commodities Management.

"That (quake) will impact the global growth of the economy and will weigh on commodities."

Market closing review for cocoa

U.S. cocoa settled weak after paring steep losses, narrowing the May-July spread and indicating signs of supply availability despite the Ivorian crisis. Raw sugar tumbled to finish down a heavy 5.6 percent.

* Benchmark May cocoa futures sank $82 to finish at $3,445 per tonne, after falling 5.6 percent to a one-month low at $3,328.

* May closed at a $34 premium to July , narrowing from $40 the previous session, indicating that supplies are available on the market - one veteran trader.

* Market tumbled on profit taking and sell-stops below $3,400 - dealers.

* Total open interest rose to 167,705 lots on March 9, up 533 lots from the previous day and reaching the highest level since March 2008 for the second straight day.

* May pared losses finding strong support at $3,320.

* Envoys of Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo rejected an African Union proposal to end a violent power struggle and warned that the West African country now risked a return to civil war. ******

ANALYSIS - Margin soar, Coffee market jolted

* Margin calls too expensive for some importers, exporters

* Local Guatemala coffee buying near halt on high prices

* Colombian exporters may turn to fixed prices

A potentially devastating storm is brewing in the world's physical coffee market, where a double whammy is hitting the companies that get beans from the farm gate to the cafe table.

Soaring prices and higher margins have squeezed exporters and importers, forcing them either to take on more risk by abandoning hedges or to pony up hefty financing costs.

Coffee roasters such as U.S. trendsetter J.M. Smucker Co have had little choice but to raise list prices by about 10 percent in its most recent hike. For coffee lovers, the good news is Starbucks , the world's biggest coffee shop chain, is working to offset rising commodity costs with a flexible pricing policy.
 

Benchmark ICE arabica futures have more than doubled in the past nine months to 34-year highs. Coffee handlers also have been slammed by soaring margins -- the sum they must pay to maintain an open position on the exchange.

Liffe coffee, cocoa fall in commodities sell-off

* Liffe May robusta coffee ends down $49 at $2,508 a tonne. Drop in coffee prices led by slide in ICE arabicas.

* Liffe May cocoa ends down 15 pounds at 2,244 pounds a tonne. London cocoa pushed lower by sharp drop in ICE futures due to long liquidation.

* Liffe May white sugar falls $23.50 to close at $727.60 a tonne. Market remains rangebound, turning lower on investor selling, under pressure from slide in ICE raw sugar futures.

In Jan, Brazil Coffee Expport jumps

* Earnings on coffee exports soar 71 percent from yr. ago

* New York May coffee futures tumble in afternoon trade

Brazil shipped 2.42 million 60-kg bags of unroasted, green coffee in February, up 19 percent from the 2.03 million bags exported in the same month last year, the Council of Coffee Exporters said on thursday.

Exports are higher this year partly on account of last year's harvest falling in an "on year" in the biennial cycle, making for a larger harvest than in the previous season. The 2011/12 crop harvesting from May, falls in a lower-output year.

Total shipments including roasted and ground coffees reached 2.66 million bags in February, up 18 percent from 2.26 million bags in the same month of 2010, Cecafe data showed.

COFFEE FORECAST TODAY & Yesterday's MARKET CLOSE REVIEW

Arabica coffee futures closed down nearly 5 percent on Thursday, careening down from Wednesday's 34-year top, although market watchers expected the uptrend to resume.

* May arabica coffee futures slumped 14.30 cents, or 4.9 percent, to settle at $2.8055 per lb.

* Market tumbled along with commodity-wide sell-off, triggering profit-taking and sell stops in an overdue correction after hitting a 34-year top Wednesday - traders.

* Heavy put selling on the options market also weighed on the market - traders.

* Brazil shipped 2.66 million 60-kg bags of coffee, both roasted and unroasted or green, in February, up 18 percent from 2.26 million bags shipped in the same month last year - Cecafe.

* A potentially devastating storm is brewing in the world's physical coffee market, where a double whammy is hitting the companies that get beans from the farm gate to the cafe table. *****

Green Mountain & Starbucks aggree for single-serve

* Starbucks to provide coffee, tea for Keurig in fall 2011

* Starbucks cafes to sell Keurig brewer, K-cups in 2012

* Green Mountain shares up 40 pct; Starbucks up 10 pct

* Peet's Coffee down 12 pct

LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK, March 11, Starbucks Corp and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc are joining forces to dominate the fast-growing $4 billion U.S. single-serve coffee market, sending shares in both names skyrocketing.
 

The partnership between the world's biggest coffee chain and the company that controls about 80 percent of the North American single-serve brewing segment poses a formidable challenge for rivals from Peet's Coffee & Tea Inc to Kraft Foods Inc.