NY Coffee and cocoa market close review for today, April 25, 2011

COFFEE
* July arabica coffee futures fell 3.75 cents or 1.3 percent to  close at $2.9080 per lb.
 

* July rose early on thin volumes, moving back towards last week's  34-year high at $3.0250 per lb, but reversed lower on investor selling as  the commodity complex fell - traders.
 

* Total volume at 9,492 lots, down 63 percent from Easter Monday 2010 -  preliminary Thomson Reuters data.

Forecast : Indonesia Vietnam and Thailand Coffee Weather today, April 25, 2011

INDONESIA

SUMMARY- Tropical showers and thundershowers the past few days, rainfallamounts 0.25-2.50+ inches (6-64+ mm). Temperatures 77-94F (25-34C).

FORECAST-

TODAY...Scattered showers and thundershowers likely, 0.10-1.25+ inches (3-32+mm). Temperatures 77-94F (25-34C).

TONIGHT...Showers diminish overnight.

Vietnam to cut coffee area but keep output stable by 2020

HANOI, April 25, 2011 - Vietnam, the world's second-largest coffee producer after Brazil, planned to cut its total coffee acreage by 13.5 percent to 480,000 hectares (1.19 million acres) while keeping output stable by the end of this decade, state-run media reported.

The area would be trimmed from 555,000 hectares, while Vietnam will aim to produce about 1.1 million tonnes, or 18.33 million 60-kg bags, of coffee a year, similar to the output of the 2010/2011 crop, the official Vietnam News Agency said.

Brazil cocoa arrivals typical of interharvest lull

Cocoa deliveries from Brazil's maingrowing regions remained low in the last week, data from Bahia Commercial Association showed, with the forthcoming mid-crop still several weeks off.

The mid-crop in the top cocoa state of Bahia is likely to fall about 15 percent from last year to around 1.1 million 60-kg bags (66,000 tonnes), according to some estimates, cocoa analyst Thomas Hartmann said in a weekly crop update.

But other states such as Para have seen a steady rise in output, boosted by government sponsorship of family farming programs focused on cocoa which may help offset this drop, if their output continues to rise.

Hartmann said the mid-crop may not kick in in Bahia until mid-June, though Para would probably be harvesting by mid-May.

Total Brazilian cocoa arrivals, including imports, reached 3.99 million 60-kg bags from May 1, 2010 to April 17, up 15 percent from the same period of last season, data from the Bahia Commercial Association showed.

Hartmann said farm gate prices in Bahia were barely changed in the last week versus the previous at 75-77.00 reais per arroba (US$47.77-$49.05), equating to $3,175-$3,260 per tonne.-----

Asia Coffee-Sumatran beans at premium, roasters seek bargain

SINGAPORE, April 20, 2011 - Indonesia robusta beans stayed at premiums to London futures as purchases from domestic roasters stirred up trade, while Vietnam could be under pressure from the prospect of a bigger output in the next crop, dealers said on Wednesday.

Sumatran robusta beans Grade 4, 80 defects, were steady at $20 premiums to the July contract . Vietnam's beans were at a discount of $60 to $70 London futures, but farmers were reluctant to sell as they waited for a further rebound in the international market.

NY Coffee and Cocoa market close review for today, April 20, 2011

COFFEE
* July arabica coffee futures climbed 5.20 cents or 1.8  percent to finish at $2.9945 per lb, the highest settlement for  the second position since 1977.
 

* July pierced the key $3/lb level intraday as chart
indicators were bullish after climbing 17 percent in 15 sessions.
 

* Market lifted by the strong commodity complex was buoyed by  lingering worries over the U.S.. fiscal health, which hammered the  dollar and caused investors to look to alternative assets -  traders.

Ghana cocoa purchases up 47 pct

Cocoa output from the world's No. 2 grower Ghana is running 47 percent higher than last year, according to official figures on Tuesday, helping to offset export delays from neighbouring Ivory Coast.

Declared purchases by private cocoa buyers to Ghana's industry regulator Cocobod -- the best reflection of output in the West African state -- reached 765,772 tonnes by April 7 since the start of the season in October.