Softs: Raw sugar futures hit five-year low on ample supplies

Barry Callebaut AG

17/04/2026 14:35

LONDON, April 17 (Reuters) - Raw sugar futures hit a five-year low on Friday as they headed for a third consecutive week of losses on ample near-term supplies.

SUGAR

* Raw sugar SBc1 fell 1.2% to 13.49 cents per lb at 1233 GMT, having earlier hit a five-year low of 13.47.

* White sugar LSUc1 fell 0.6% to $415.90 a metric ton.

* The front-month white sugar contract expired on Wednesday with a record of nearly half a million tons delivered. Large deliveries usually mean sugar could not achieve a better price in the physical markets.

* Broker StoneX said the data reinforced the view that there is high availability and that it "opens the door to a scenario of strong price pressure over the coming months".

* The broker also noted sugar demand is weak due to a "significant shift in global food consumption patterns".

* Tereos, one of the world's largest sugar producers, expects to crush 18 million 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.

* Broker AMDIS said the Tereos news "seems to run counter to expectations for lower sugar production out of Brazil this year due to an increase in ethanol production".

COCOA

* London cocoa LCCc2 rose 1.7% to 2,575 pounds a ton, having ​closed down 2.2%.

* Thursday's first-quarter cocoa grind data, a measure of demand, was weaker than expected in Europe and North America, though figures for Asia were strong.

* First-half results on Thursday from the leading global cocoa processor and chocolate maker Barry Callebaut were also weak, although the group forecast a return to volume growth in the six months to end-September.

* New York cocoa CCc2 rose 2.6% to $3,545 a ton, having closed down 3%.

COFFEE

* Robusta coffee LRCc2 fell 1.8% to $3,288 a ton, though it remained above last week's eight-month low.

* A robusta trader in the biggest producer Vietnam said lower prices had stimulated demand.

* Arabica coffee KCc2 fell 0.4% to $2.8920 per lb.

 (Reporting by May Angel; editing by Barbara Lewis)

 ((may.angel@thomsonreuters.com; x.com/ReutersAngelM; linkedin.com/in/may-angel-03b69a41/;))