LONDON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Cocoa futures fell on Wednesday as the market remained on the defensive owing to weak demand that is leading to a build-up in stocks of unsold beans in both Ivory Coast and Ghana
COCOA
* London cocoa LCCc1 lost 2.6% to 3,008 pounds a metric ton by 1256 GMT, slipping back towards a more than two-year low of 2,728 pounds set on Friday.
* A surge in cocoa prices in 2023 and 2024 has driven up the cost of chocolate, curbing demand, while some manufacturers have reformulated products to reduce cocoa content.
* Cadbury parent Mondelez International MDLZ.O expects a subdued year ahead as price increases deter shoppers already facing rising living costs and macroeconomic uncertainty.
* New York cocoa CCc1 fell 2.35% to $4,199 a ton.
SUGAR
* Raw sugar SBc1 lost 0.75% to 14.52 cents per lb, slipping back towards a 2-1/2 month low of 14.13 cents set on Monday.
* Dealers continued to keep a close watch on news from the annual Dubai sugar conference, with forecasts that the market is likely to be more balanced in the coming 2026/27 season because of declining production.
* White sugar LSUc1 retreated by 1.1% to $412.90 a ton.
* Indian sugar mills are unlikely to export their full allocation of 1.5 million tons in the current 2025/26 marketing year ending in September, a senior industry official said on Wednesday.
COFFEE
* Arabica coffee KCc1 gained a marginal 0.2% to $3.1770 per lb, with the market stabilising after falling sharply on Tuesday to a 5-1/2 month low of $3.1480.
* Dealers said the weather in top coffee producer Brazil was generally favourable and a larger arabica crop was expected this year.
* Robusta coffee LRCc1 rose 1.5% to $3,866 a ton.
(Reporting by Nigel HuntEditing by David Goodman)
((nigel.hunt@thomsonreuters.com; +44 (0) 7990 561421; Reuters Messaging: nigel.hunt.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net/))