Cocoa, Coffee, Sugar Fall as Europe’s Crisis Seen Damping Demand

Sugar, cocoa and coffee declined in New York on speculation Europe’s debt crisis will slow demand just as producing countries may still have a lot to sell.

European stocks fell and Italy’s borrowing costs climbed to a three-month high as the country’s elections stalemate spurred concern the continent’s crisis will worsen. Coffee growers in top producer Brazil had sold 67 percent of the crop by Feb. 8, down from 79 percent a year earlier, according to researcher Safras & Mercado. Ivory Coast, the largest cocoa grower, is behind with sales of its crop, said Kona Haque, an analyst at Macquarie Group Ltd. in London. Brazil’s sugar millers have sold less of their crop than usual, Rabobank International estimates.