SOFTS-Robusta coffee rallies as dealers eye Vietnam floods, cocoa recovers

NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Robusta coffee futures on the ICE exchange rallied on Thursday as dealers noted harvest delays in top producer Vietnam and tried to gauge the damage from a new round of floods in the country's coffee-growing region.

Cocoa partly recovered from Wednesday's plunge, meanwhile.

COFFEE

Robusta coffee LRCc2 settled up $115, or 2.5%, at $4,631 a metric ton, heading for weekly gains of 10%.

The death toll from a new round of torrential rain, flooding and landslides in central Vietnam since the weekend has risen to 41, a government report said, with more flooding and landslides expected Friday as heavy rain is set to continue.

"It's been raining heavily here. Flood waters could wash away beans that fell during the downpour, causing huge losses for farmers," said a trader in the coffee belt.

Another trader said the rain is expected to affect the quality of the beans.

Arabica coffee KCc2 rose 0.5% to $3.7665 per lb.

There is a forecast for beneficial rains in top arabica grower Brazil starting over the weekend.

COCOA

London cocoa LCCc2 ​​settled up 102 pounds, or 2.6%, to 3,968 pounds per ton, having slumped 6.1% on Wednesday to hit its weakest since February 2024.

While price charts remain bearish, dealers noted concern over poor quality beans in top grower Ivory Coast and talk that both Ivory Coast and Ghana have stopped marketing beans due to low prices.

Ivory Coast has sold 1.3 million tons of cocoa contracts for the 2025/26 October to March main crop, down from 1.4 million tons last year, amid concerns over declining harvests and production, two Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC) sources told Reuters on Thursday.

New York cocoa CCc2 rose 3.5% to $5,282 a ton, having lost 6% on Wednesday.

SUGAR

Raw sugar SBc1 closed little changed at 14.66 cents per lb.

The contract remains not far off recent 5-year lows as sugar supplies are ample, with a global surplus anticipated in the current 2025/26 season.

Dealers said Brazil November rainfall forecasts remain above average across much of the sugar region, favouring cane development for the next crop but limiting cane crushing as the current harvest nears the end.

White sugar LSUc1 was also stable at $420.00 a ton.