SOFTS-Robusta coffee slips as Brazil halts import plans

LONDON

, Feb 22 (

Reuters

) - Robusta coffee futures fell on Wednesday as

Brazil

seemed to backtrack away from plans to allow imports for the first time, while raw sugar eased after hitting technical resistance. COFFEE * Robusta coffee futures slipped, with the May contract down $29, or 1.32 percent, at $2,160 a tonne by 1237 GMT, after slumping to a session low of $2,141. * The market weakness came as Brazil's President

Michel Temer

ordered a suspension of the authorisation of robusta coffee imports. * The country was set to allow imports of 1 million 60-kg bags of coffee from

Vietnam

at a 2 percent tariff for the first time under a decree outlined this week. * "For me, for anything like this to go through, it's got to be a desperate situation," one dealer said, noting a recent fall in internal prices suggested this was not that case. "It shows you there's coffee there. They just need a bit of pressure to sell it." * The imports were meant to ease a supply squeeze that has hit the country's soluble industry, reportedly forcing them to turn down offers from foreign buyers. * However, local robusta producers have opposed the move, maintaining there is enough domestic supply to meet demand. * The uncertainty has triggered a pull-back by speculators, who have recently started reducing record net long positions built on expectations of imports. * May arabica was down 0.10 cents, or 0.07 percent, at $1.5175 per lb. SUGAR * March raw sugar futures eased 0.02 cents, or 0.10 percent, to 20.72 cents per lb, after surging higher in the previous session. * The contract gained 2.4 percent, supported by a tightening of nearby supplies highlighted by buying from

Iran

and

Egypt

. * However, prices stalled on Wednesday as they struggled to breach a key resistance level, while an ample supply outlook weighed further. * The

International Sugar Organization

on Tuesday scaled back its global sugar deficit forecast for the 2016-17 season to 5.869 million tonnes, from a previous estimate of 6.19 million tonnes. * May white sugar was down $0.40, or 0.07 percent, at $560.20 a tonne. COCOA * May

New York

cocoa was up $1, or 0.05 percent, at$1,997 a tonne. * May London cocoa rose 2 pounds, or 0.12 percent, to 1,616 pounds a tonne. (Reporting by Mariana Ionova; editing by David Clarke)
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