Softs: Cocoa falls as traders digest demand figures, Barry Callebaut results

Barry Callebaut AG

16/04/2026 20:34

Adds comments and closing prices

NEW YORK, April 16 (Reuters) -
Cocoa futures on ICE fell on Thursday after hitting two-month highs in the prior session, as traders digested mixed figures on first-quarter demand and poor results from Barry Callebaut BARN.S, the world's top chocolate maker and cocoa processor.

Raw sugar futures recovered after hitting their lowest price in more than five years on Wednesday.

COCOA

* London cocoa LCCc2 ​settled down 56 pounds, or 2.2%, at 2,531 pounds per metric ton.

* Barry Callebaut slashed its full-year operating profit forecast earlier in the day, citing supply chain disruptions linked to the Iran war and overcapacity in the cocoa market.

* The Swiss group said its sales volume fell 6.9% in the first half, but it sees a return to volume growth ahead which should bring its full-year decline down to between 1% and 3%.

* Europe's first-quarter cocoa grind, a measure of demand, fell 7.8% from a year earlier, data showed, while Asia's grind rose 5.2%. The North American grind is due later on Thursday, with market estimates ranging from a modest fall to a 3% gain.

* Dealers said the Europe data was worse than expected.

* New York cocoa CCc2 fell 3% to $3,455 a ton.

SUGAR

* Raw sugar SBc1 settled up 0.15 cent, or 1.1%, at 13.66 cents per lb, having hit the lowest price since October 2020 on Wednesday.

* White sugar LSUc1 rose 1.5% to $418.30 a ton, despite the bearish data on the May delivery.

* The front-month white sugar contract expired on Wednesday with a record of nearly half a million tons delivered. Large deliveries usually mean there was no better deal for that sugar in the physical markets.

* Tereos, one of the world's largest sugar producers,  expects to crush 18 million metric tons of sugarcane in the 2026/27 season in Brazil, steady from the previous cycle despite the sale of a unit in the country this year.

* Consultancy Datagro expects Brazil ethanol production to grow 14.6% in 2026/27.

COFFEE

* Robusta coffee LRCc2 fell 1.4% to $3,347 a ton, though it remains some way off last week's eight-month low.

* "Activity stayed tepid (this week) as farmers are not selling, although demand still exists after prices have come down significantly," said a robusta trader in top producer Vietnam.

* Arabica coffee KCc2 fell 2.6% to $2.904 per lb.

* Dealers said while the market continues to expect a hefty surplus next season, there is an increasing risk that the El Nino weather phenomenon will hurt output and cut the eventual supply excess.

 (Reporting by May Angel and Marcelo Teixeira; Editing by Shailesh Kuber, Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Maju Samuel)

 ((marcelo.teixeira@tr.com; +1 332 220 8062; https://x.com/tx_marcelo;))