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.