Coffee hits 14-month low amid optimistic supply outlook and demand issues

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(Updates with comments and closing price)

NEW YORK/LONDON, Oct. 26 (Reuters) –

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Arabica coffee futures on ICE fell to their lowest level in 14 months on Wednesday as the supply outlook improved and demand concerns intensified.

COFFEE

* December Arabica coffee settled 6.05 cents, or 3.3%, at $1.7975 a pound, a 14-month low.

*Traders have noted that production from major washed Arabica producers in Colombia and Central America is expected to increase in the 2022/23 season (October-September) as the weather has been generally favorable.

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*Costa Rica’s coffee production will likely increase by 11.5% in the 2022-2023 harvest, officials said, boosted by new plantings and a larger crop in the semi-annual cycle.

* Weather in Brazil, the top producer, remains favorable and exports are accelerating, but a potential global economic slowdown could dampen demand.

* January robusta coffee settled down $73, or 3.7%, to $1,875 a tonne, its lowest level in 14 months.

SUGAR

* March raw sugar came in 0.25 cents, or 1.4%, at 17.86 cents a pound. The contract hit a three-week low of 17.85 cents.

* Dealers said Brazil’s sugar production is expected to exceed last season’s total and all indications point to much higher output next season, meaning a global surplus now looks certain as concerns over demand adding to the mix.

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* Agricultural consultancy Datagro said on Wednesday that Brazil’s top producer’s sugar output next season could reach 38.5 million tonnes from the current 33.2 million tonnes under better weather conditions.

* December white sugar slid $5.00, or 1.0%, to $519.30 a tonne.

COCOA

* December New York Cocoa settled down $18, or 0.8%, at $2,278 a tonne.

* Chocolate maker Cadbury Mondelez has pledged to spend an additional $600 million by 2030 to tackle child labor, farmer poverty and cocoa deforestation.

* London Cocoa in March fell 25 pounds, or 1.3%, to 1,859 pounds a tonne. (Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira and Maytaal Angel; Editing by Kirsten Donovan, Mark Potter and Shinjini Ganguli)