SOFTS-Robusta coffee prices edge up, sugar also higher

LONDON, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Robusta coffee futures rose on Wednesday as the focus remained on whether recent storms and flooding in top robusta producer Vietnam has dented the harvest outlook.

COFFEE

Robusta coffee LRCc1 gained 0.5% to $4,371 a metric ton at 1302 GMT.

Dealers said storms had delayed the harvest in Vietnam and led to cherries falling from trees with the harvest outlook potentially reduced by between 5% and 10%.

Arabica coffee KCc2 rose 0.04% to $3.7360 per lb.

Shipments from Brazil to the U.S. have been slow to pick up despite the removal of tariffs although volumes should start to increase early next year.

SUGAR

Raw sugar SBc1 gained 0.7% to 15.08 cents per lb.

Speculators trimmed a net short position in raw sugar in the week to Oct. 21, data issued by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed.

White sugar LSUc1 rose 0.5% to $431.40 per ton.

France's 2025/26 sugar beet crop is expected to reach about 36 million metric tons, up from 32.8 million last season, with improved yields offsetting a decrease in the planted area, growers group CGB said on Wednesday.

COCOA

London cocoa LCCc2 fell 1.2% to 3,986 pounds per ton.

Dealers said the flow of beans to ports in Ivory Coast had picked up during the last few weeks but the outlook for the tail end of the main crop appears uncertain with some expecting a decline between January and March 2026.

Ivory Coast cocoa regulator has restricted the issuance of transport permits for cocoa beans to the ports of Abidjan and San Pedro to alleviate congestion and ensure farmers receive the guaranteed farmgate price, its managing director said.

New York cocoa CCc2 was down 0.1% to $5,450 a ton.