Colombia coffee exports not hit by Japan tsunami

Colombia coffee shipments from the Pacific coast have not been affected by a tsunami warning after a massive earthquake in Japan, the country's coffee federation said on Friday.

Colombia, the world's top producer of high-quality washed Arabica, is expected to see coffee production this year reach at least 9 million 60-kg bags, the highest level since 2008, as better weather helps flowering.

"Everything is completely normal despite the tsunami alert, and we're not expecting any kind of impact," a spokesperson for the federation said, adding that exporters were monitoring maritime warnings.

Colombia exports around half of country's coffee from the Pacific coastal port of Buenaventura.

The biggest earthquake on record to hit Japan rocked the northeast coast on Friday, triggering a 10-metre tsunami that killed hundreds of people and swept away everything in its path, including houses, ships and cars. ******

UN envoys mull escrow for Ivory Coast cocoa revenue

UNITED NATIONS  12 march 2011- The U.N. Security Council may consider a proposal to set up an escrow account for Ivory Coast cocoa revenues to keep them out of incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo's hands, U.N. diplomats told Reuters.

Amid fears of a new civil war in Ivory Coast, Gbagbo rejected an African Union proposal at a summit on Thursday offering him a safe exit in return for ceding power to rival Alassane Ouattara, winner of a disputed November election according to U.N.-certified results.

"An escrow account for cocoa revenues is one of the options we're considering for Cote d'Ivoire," a Western diplomat said on condition of anonymity. "In theory it could work and it's something the council can take a look at."

Another council diplomat confirmed that the idea of a U.N.-administered escrow account was under discussion for the world's biggest producer of cocoa, a commodity that is Gbagbo's main source of funds as his international isolation increases.

Cocoa Falls as Supply May Increase

Cocoa fell, capping the biggest weekly drop since May, on speculation that exports from Ivory Coast will increase after the government threatened to seize undeclared inventories.

Ivorian exporters have until March 31 to ship bean stockpiles or face “sanctions,” a spokesman for President Laurent Gbagbo said March 9. Gbagbo has refused to step down following a November election that international observers say was won by Alassane Ouattara, who has asked shippers to hold back exports as a way of denying funds to his rival. The government is also threatening to seize inventories not declared by today.

“The market is realizing there is still a lot of supply, as the situation in Ivory Coast is forcing suppliers to export in order to pay the domestic tax,” Jonathan Bouchet, an analyst at broker OTCex Group, said today by telephone from Geneva. Ivory Coast is the world’s biggest cocoa producer.

Cocoa for May delivery fell $33, or 1 percent, to settle at $3,412 a metric ton at 12:10 p.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. Prices dropped 6.7 percent this week, the most since May 14.

In London, cocoa futures for May delivery lost 18 pounds, or 0.8 percent, to 2,226 pounds ($3,574) a ton on NYSE Liffe. Prices dropped 4.9 percent this week.

At least 365 people have died in political violence in Ivory Coast since the election, according to the United Nations. Gbagbo took control of local cocoa and coffee buying and exports on March 7 in a bid to force resumption of shipments.

In other hand, Global cocoa production will exceed demand by 119,000 tons in the season that started Oct. 1, compared with a shortage of 66,000 tons a year earlier, according to the London-based International Cocoa Organization.******

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.