Softs: Cocoa falls 4% to hit 1-1/2 month low, coffee up on Trump tariff threats

Suedzucker AG

13/01/2026 20:51

Adds comments on coffee, updates prices to settlement

NEW YORK, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Cocoa futures on the ICE exchange slumped to 1-1/2 month lows on Tuesday on indications that demand for the chocolate ingredient remains weak, while coffee rose as dealers eyed renewed tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.

        COCOA

* New York cocoa CCc1 settled down $219, or 4%, to $5,224 a metric ton, having hit a 1-1/2 month low of $5,051 earlier.

* Concerns over demand weakness continue to weigh on cocoa.

* Swiss chocolate maker Lindt & Spruengli's LISN.S sales volumes, a measure of cocoa demand, declined around 6% year-on-year in 2025.

* Dealers expect this Thursday's fourth-quarter Europe grind data, a measure of demand, will come in between -0.3% to -2%, while Friday's Asian grind figures will slide to between -10% to -11.7%.

* They also noted movements related to the recent inclusion of New York cocoa in the Bloomberg commodities index (BCOM).

* "It seems as if the pre-positioning ahead of the BCOM's re-balancing was far more significant than the cocoa open interest had suggested hence the market has become a net seller through the re-balancing period thus far," a U.S.-based trader said.

* London cocoa LCCc1 fell 2.8% to 3,829 pounds per ton.

        COFFEE

* Arabica coffee KCc1 settled up 4.2 cents, or 1.2%, at $3.6025 per lb​​.

* U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday any country that does business with Iran will face a 25% tariff on trade with the U.S.

* Top coffee producer Brazil is a big supplier of agricultural goods to Iran, and also accounts for about a third of U.S. coffee imports and traders told Reuters they are eyeing the matter closely.

* A source at the U.S. National Coffee Association said there was no clarity yet about Trump's announcement. The industry is waiting for the eventual publication of the Executive Order.

* Robusta coffee LRCc2 rose 0.9% to $3,953 a ton.

        SUGAR

* Raw sugar SBc1 ​settled up 0.05 cent, or 0.3%, at 14.89 cents per lb.

* Europe's largest sugar producer Suedzucker SZUG.DE

cut its third-quarter losses from its sugar business to 47 million euros from 95 million euros last year, but warned EU sugar markets are likely to remain depressed

* "The challenge we are facing is sugar production, in the EU and worldwide, is above consumption," a Suedzucker spokesperson said. "No significant earnings recovery in the sugar market is expected."

* The global sugar surplus for the 2025/26 season is projected at 4.7 million metric tons, up 600,000 tons from a previous forecast, consultancy CovrigAnalytics said.

* White sugar LSUc1 gained 0.9% to $427.30 a ton.

 (Reporting by May Angel and Marcelo Teixeira; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Leroy Leo)

 ((marcelo.teixeira@tr.com; +1 332 220 8062; Reuters Messaging: marcelo.teixeira.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net - https://x.com/tx_marcelo))