Coffee Futures Climb on Flood Damage in Guatemala;

June 1 (Bloomberg) -- Coffee futures climbed the most in four weeks after a tropical storm slammed Guatemala, Central America’s largest producer. Cocoa also gained.

Landslides and flooding killed at least 82 people and left 53 missing, David de Leon, a spokesman for Guatemala’s national disaster agency, said yesterday. Downed bridges and landslides cut off access for some coffee growers in western Guatemala, said Lucrecia Rodriguez, a deputy manager at Anacafe, an industry trade group.

A man attempts to rescue a boy who tried to cross the overflowing Huiza River in El Salvador. Photo: Reuters

“People are concerned about the conditions in Guatemala,” said Tom Mikulski, a senior market strategist at Lind-Waldock, a broker in Chicago.

Arabica coffee for July delivery rose 2.3 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $1.3655 a pound on ICE Futures U.S. in New York, the biggest gain for the most-active contract since May 3.

Cocoa for July delivery gained $25, or 0.8 percent, to $2,990 a metric ton in New York. The price dropped 8.5 percent last month.

On London’s Liffe exchange, cocoa futures for July delivery rose 24 pounds, or 1 percent, to 2,444 pounds ($3,586) a ton. Robusta-coffee futures for July delivery climbed $11, or 0.8 percent, to $1,349 ton.

Coffee production in Indonesia may increase by 5.7 percent in the year ending March 31 as farmers switch from cocoa to avoid taxes, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report released today.

Arabica beans are grown mainly in Latin America and brewed by specialty companies including Starbucks Corp. Robusta, used in instant coffee, is harvested mostly in Asia and parts of Africa.

To contact the reporter on this story: Debarati Roy in New York at droy5@bloomberg.net