Sep 17 - Ghana lost 160,000 tons of cocoa to smuggling in 2023/24 season, Cocobod official says
Ghana has lost more than a third of its 2023/24 cocoa output to smuggling, a top official from the cocoa marketing board (Cocobod) told Reuters, as low local prices and payment delays push some farmers to sell to increasingly sophisticated trafficking rings. Poor harvests in Ghana and Ivory Coast, the world s second largest and largest producers, have pushed markets into a four-year supply deficit, driving up global cocoa and chocolate prices this year.

Sep 17 - Russian wheat export prices little changed as shipments stay high
Russian wheat export prices were little changed last week, although export volumes are expected to still be strong in September after record highs for the month in August. The price of 12.5% protein Russian new crop wheat scheduled free-on-board with delivery in October was $216 per metric ton at the end of last week, up $1, IKAR consultancy said.

Sep 17 - Ukraine grain exports at 8.7 mln tons so far in 2024/25, farm ministry says
Ukraine s grain exports in the 2024/25 July-June season reached 8.7 million metric tons as of Sept. 16, compared with 5.9 million tons by Sept. 20 in the previous season, agriculture ministry data showed on Monday. The volume included 4.8 million tons of wheat, 2.5 million tons of corn and 1.2 million tons of barley.

Sep 17 - US corn harvest 9% complete, soybeans 6% done, USDA data shows
The U.S. corn harvest was 9% complete by Sunday and the soybean harvest was 6% complete, government data showed on Monday, each 3 percentage points ahead of their respective five-year averages, while condition ratings were mixed. The U.S. Department of Agriculture in a weekly crop progress report rated 65% of the corn crop as good to excellent, up 1 percentage point from a week ago, while 10 analysts surveyed by Reuters on average had expected a 1-point decline.

Sep 16 - NOPA Aug US soybean crush seen at 171.325 million bushels
The monthly U.S. soybean crush likely fell by more than 6% in August as processors idled plants for seasonal maintenance and repairs ahead of the 2024 harvest, analysts said ahead of a National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) report due on Monday. NOPA members, who handle about 95% of all U.S. processed soybeans, were estimated to have crushed 171.325 million bushels last month, according to the average of estimates from nine analysts surveyed by Reuters.

Sep 16 - India sharply raises import tax on edible oils to support farmers
India has raised the basic import tax on crude and refined edible oils by 20 percentage points, the government said on Friday, as the world s biggest edible oil importer tries to help protect farmers reeling from lower oilseed prices. The move could lift edible oil prices and dampen demand and subsequently reduce overseas purchases of palm oil, soyoil and sunflower oil.

Sep 16 - India removes floor price for basmati rice exports to claw back global share
India removed a floor price for basmati rice exports on Friday, according to a government order, to help farmers struggling with debt and higher costs boost overseas sales of the premium grade just weeks ahead of the arrival of the new-season crop. Last year New Delhi set a floor price, or minimum export price (MEP), of $1,200 a metric ton and later cut the MEP to $950 a ton

Sep 13 - Global cocoa stocks drop to 50-year low, 2024/25 output seen recovering - ICCO
The global cocoa stocks-to-grinding ratio has dropped to its lowest in almost 50 years amid a steep decline in output which has boosted prices to all-time highs this year, but production could recover from next month, a senior industry official said on Thursday. World cocoa stocks tumbled to 1.32 million metric tons in July, from 1.79 million tons in September last year, said Michel Arrion, executive director of the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO).

Sep 12 - Prices edge up slightly in Vietnam, crops unharmed after typhoon Yagi (Reuters)

Vietnam s domestic coffee prices rose slightly on Thursday from a week earlier, with the Central Highland coffee crops unharmed in the aftermath of typhoon Yagi, while trading is expected to remain subdued until the harvest season next month. Farmers in the Central Highlands, Vietnam s largest coffee-growing area, sold beans for 121,000-121,500 dong ($4.93-$4.95) per kg, compared with 119,000-120,500 dong a week ago.

Robusta coffee for November delivery settled up $111, or 2%, at $5,008 per metric ton, as of Wednesday s close.

Typhoon Yagi, Asia s most powerful storm this year, made landfall in northern Vietnam last weekend and created huge damage, but coffee trees in the Central Highlands were unharmed.
"London prices have gained significantly since the beginning of this week, partly due to news on typhoon Yagi and data from Vietnamese authorities on lower coffee exports," a trader based in the coffee belt said.
"The weather in the coffee belt remains favourable for the trees."
Another trader said farmers had started to prepare for the harvest, which begins next month, while some traders also started seeking new beans.

- Traders offered 5% black and broken-grade 2 robusta at a premium of $50 per ton to the November contract, and a discount of $30-$50 per ton to the January contract.
Vietnam s coffee exports in the first eight months of this year were 1.056 million tons, down 12.1% from a year earlier, customs data showed.

- In Indonesia, Sumatra robusta coffee beans were offered at a $280 premium to the November contract, up from the $220 premium last week to the September-October contracts.
"It was because of lower coffee supplies," one trader said. Another trader quoted beans at a $130 premium to the November contract, a drop from last week s $200 premium as "an adjustment to the prices on the London terminal".