NY coffee ( arabica ) market close review for today, April 15, 2011

* July arabica coffee futures jumped 5.95 cents or 2.1 percent to settle at $2.9110 per lb.
 

* July closed the week up 4.8 percent, its second straight weekly  gain.
 

* Arabica premium over robusta futures soared, with its last trade at  $1.7925 per lb, the highest since at least 2008 when the current Liffe  contract was established.
 

* Market strong on supply concerns as well as chart-based buying as  July got closer to last month's 34-year high at $2,9665 per lb - traders.
 

* "Every coffee growing nation seems to be having some type of coffee  issue. I think it's going to give people a reason to try to test the $3  level in the July coffee very soon." - Hector Galvan, RJO Futures senior  market strategist in Chicago.
 

* Indonesian robusta coffee beans were offered at a premium to London  futures this week for the first time since June 2010 because of tight  supply after rain damaged coffee cherries early this year.

Source : reuters

GERMAN Q1 2011 COCOA GRIND UP 22.7 PCT ON YEAR, RISE DUE TO MORE FIRMS REPORTING DATA -BDSI

HAMBURG, April 115, 2011- Germany's first-quarter 2011 cocoa grind rose 22.7 percent on the year to 108,816 tonnes, the association of German confectionery producers BDSI said on Thursday.

The association said the large rise was partly due to a change in statistical calculation because more companies were contributing grinding data than in the first quarter of 2010.

In other side, Europe's first quarter cocoa grind rose 3.5 percent on the year earlier period to 353,103 tonnes, the Brussels-based European Cocoa Association said on Thursday.

The rise was at the higher end of analysts' and dealers' expectations, as grinding capacity utilization in Europe was forecast to have increased, due to the lack of activity in top cocoa producer Ivory Coast.

Ivory Coast's cocoa industry has been at a standstill in recent months after a disputed presidential election in November led to EU sanctions, a ban on cocoa exports and a crippled banking system.

Cocoa processors were expected to have replaced the lost Ivory Coast capacity by using capacity elsewhere.

European grindings, a key indicator of demand, have not yet fully recovered from a recession-linked decline in early 2009.

The ECA's quarterly statistics cover most of the grinding industry in the European Union and Switzerland.

Source: reuters

Ivory Coast cocoa exporters seek speedier process

ABIDJAN, April 14, 2011 - Ivory Coast exporters have requested that the government ease administrative procedures and allow them ship the more than 450,000 tonnes of cocoa blocked at the country's port before paying taxes later.

Exporters said on Thursday normal export procedures usually take 15 days but hoped after several months of blockade the new government of Alassane Ouattara would ease the system and permit exporters to load and ship beans before paying taxes.

Nestle to decide on L'Oreal stake in 2014

ZURICH, April 14, 2011 - The world's biggest food group Nestle will decide on the future of its stake in French cosmetics group L'Oreal in 2014 when a 10-year standstill agreement draws to an end, its chairman said on Thursday.
 

Last year's disposal of its remaining stake in eyecare company Alcon allowed the food company to sharpen its focus on nutrition, health and wellbeing. Its 30 percent stake in L'Oreal is next on the agenda, Chairman Peter Brabeck said on Thursday.

Kraft to sell Gevalia coffee at US supermarkets

LOS ANGELES, April 14, 2011 - Kraft Foods Inc will begin selling its premium coffee brand, Gevalia, at supermarkets and other U.S. retailers in August, the company said on Thursday.
 

The move gets Kraft back into the U.S. premium grocery coffee business after its contentious split with Starbucks Corp this March. The companies had been long-time grocery distribution partners. Kraft, North America's largest packaged food maker, said Gevalia is the No. 1 coffee brand in Sweden.
 

The company added that the nearly $400 million global Gevalia brand already has a "significant" following in the United States, where it is sold online.
U.S. retailers in August will offer ground, whole bean, decaffeinated and flavored Gevalia coffees options, Kraft said.

Source: Reuters

NY Coffee and Cocoa market close review for today, April 14, 2011

COFFEE
* July arabica coffee futures gained 1.45 cents, or  0.5 percent, to close at $2.8515 per lb.
 

* Second-position July moved closer to last month's 34-year  high of $2.9665 per lb.
 

* Position rolling out of May, ahead of first notice day  April 20, into July continued to account for a large proportion  of the day's dealings - traders.
 

* Short-covering and some roaster buying helped lift prices  as tight supplies underpinned the market - traders.

Brazil cocoa slows to trickle, awaits May mid-crop

Deliveries of cocoa to warehouses inBrazil's main growing regions were slow in the last week, data from BahiaCommercial Association showed, but will pick up again in May once themid-crop harvest starts.

Total Brazilian cocoa arrivals, including imports, reached 3.96 million 60-kg bags from May 1, 2010 to April 10, up 15 percent from the same period of last season, data from the Bahia Commercial Association showed.

The May-April season looks set to end with total output a good deal higher than last year, helped by one of the best main crop harvests in years compensating for the poor mid crop before it. The main crop runs from October to late April.

Farm gate prices in Bahia improved to 75-77.00 reais per arroba ($47.14-$48.4), up slightly from 74-76 reais in the previous week. Cocoa futures prices have been influenced heavily by political unrest in top cocoa grower Ivory Coast.

The weather in Bahia was forecast to remain mostly dry and sunny, with showers forecast to intensify over the weekend.

Source : Reuters