Outlook Positive For Cocoa, Coffee 04/10

Outlook Positive For Cocoa, Coffee Coffee and cocoa futures markets appear better positioned tohandle global financial turmoil since demand for the two commodities is lesssensitive to economic downturns than agricultural products like cotton. Forcoffee, $2.20/pound "is probably what we're going to look back on as a cheapprice," says Sterling Smith at Country Hedging. "Global demand is increasing."Cocoa, too, is often considered an affordable luxury, which may even benefitfrom a recession. "I expect the increase in demand for chocolate during rougheconomic times as a way of rewarding oneself," says Rohit Deshpande, aprofessor at Harvard Business School. ICE December cocoa ends up 0.7% at$2,592/ton, recovering from a more than 2-year low. Arabica coffee gains 1.4%to $2.2655.