Cocoa climbs on harvest delays

LONDON, Oct 14 (Reuters): Cocoa futures on ICE were higher on Monday boosted by a slow start to the harvest in top grower Ivory Coast while sugar and coffee prices also rose.

COCOA

March London cocoa rose 1.8 per cent to 5,174 pounds a ton by 1055 GMT. Dealers said heavy rains in top grower Ivory Coast were helping to support prices, hampering the harvest and transportation of cocoa beans to ports.

Cocoa arrivals at ports in Ivory Coast reached 100,000 metric tons by Oct. 13 since the start of the season on Oct. 1, down 12.3 per cent compared with the same period last season, exporters estimated on Monday.

December New York cocoa rose 0.4 per cent to $7,771 a metric ton.

SUGAR

March raw sugar rose 0.6 per cent to 22.38 cents per lb, regaining some ground after falling 3.3 per cent last week.

Dealers said a larger-than-expected drop in sugar production in Centre-South Brazil in the second half of September helped to underpin prices.

December white sugar rose 0.8 per cent to $574.40 a ton.

COFFEE

November robusta coffee rose 1 per cent to $4,877 a ton, boosted by expectations of a smaller harvest in top robusta producer Vietnam.

The coffee crop in Vietnam will fall up to 10 per cent in the new season, which began this month, to possibly the lowest in a decade, five traders and sector representatives said.

December arabica coffee rose 1.8 per cent to $2.5650 per lb.