LONDON, Oct 15 (Reuters): London cocoa futures on ICE rose to their highest in a month on Tuesday amid renewed worries over supply, while coffee also gained.
March London cocoa edged up 0.3 per cent at 5,093 pounds a metric ton, having hit a one-month high of 5,200.
The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) sees Ivory Coast's cocoa production reaching 2 million metric tons in the 2024/25 season versus 1.8 million tons last season, an ICCO expert told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
For No. 2 grower Ghana, however, the ICCO does not expect production to exceed 500,000 tons due to issues related to artisanal gold-mining and swollen shoot disease, which affects about 40 per cent of Ghanaian plantations compared with 15-20 per cent of those in Ivory Coast.
"I remain cautious," said the director of an international cocoa export company in Abidjan, referring to the ICCO's Ivory Coast projection.
Brokerage J.P.Morgan has cut chocolate maker Hershey's price target, citing softer demand and higher cocoa prices, which it expects will remain elevated in the near future.
December New York cocoa dipped 0.1 per cent to $7,608 a ton.
COFFEE
December arabica coffee rose 0.6% to $2.6340 per lb, but remained some way off its recent 13-year peaks.
Dealers said hopes are high that the arrival of long-overdue rains in top arabica producer Brazil will spur the trees to flower - the first stage of fruit production.
November robusta coffee was up 0.4 per cent at $4,990 a metric ton.
The coffee crop in Vietnam will fall up to 10 per cent in the new season to possibly the lowest in a decade, traders and sector representatives said.
