LONDON, April 4 (Reuters) - Arabica coffee futures fell and raw sugar and cocoa eased in early trade on Wednesday, pressured by a firmer dollar, continuing a selloff of soft commodities on fund liquidation in the prior session.
The sugar market remained focused mainly on the outlook for output in the centre-south of top producer Brazil.
The cocoa market was supported by worries over the impact of dry weather on the mid crop in top producer Ivory Coast, but was weighed by ample global stocks.
COFFEE
* May arabicas on ICE were down 2.9 cent or 1.6 percent at $1.8245 per lb at 0822 GMT, and stood above a 17-month low of $1.7445 touched on March 22.
* Expectations of a big Brazilian crop and speculative selling have weighed on the arabicas market.
* Arabica futures have dropped around 40 percent from the highs reached in May 2011, when the market rose above $3 per lb.
* Benchmark Liffe May robusta coffee futures were down $11 or 0.5 percent at $2,014 per tonne.
* Exports from main robusta producer Vietnam are expected to slip more than 7 percent this year due to limited supplies, while a plunge in last month's exports from rival Indonesia highlights the slow progress of the current harvest.
* Japan's Mitsubishi Corp said on Tuesday it bought a 20 percent stake in Ipanema Coffees, one of Brazil's top coffee farms, which covers an area the size of New York City's Manhattan island.
SUGAR
* Raw sugar prices dipped in early trading, pressured by expectations for a big global surplus of the sweetener. The market continued to keep a close watch on the crop outlook in top producer and exporter Brazil.
* A bearish target at 25.28 cents per lb looks doubtful for New York sugar as signals have become neutral, according to Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.
* May raw sugar on ICE fell 0.04 cent or 0.16 percent to 24.21 cents a lb. The contract dipped to 24.11 cents on March 28, a two-week low for the front month.
* New York sugar will drop more to 23.65 cents per lb, driven by a downward wave (3), according to Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.
* One broker talked of subdued physical demand, noting that substantial offtake would be required to avoid a further drop in values as a global surplus draws near.
* The Mexican government is closely watching domestic sugar prices and could allow sugar imports if prices do not fall closer to world levels, Mexico's economy minister said on Tuesday.
* Sudan has shelved the launch of a $1 billion sugar plant, state media said on Tuesday, delaying a strategic industrial project that was meant to help the government overcome a severe economic crisis.
* London May white sugar futures fell $2.30 or 0.4 percent to $632.30 per tonne.
COCOA
* Cocoa futures on ICE dipped with May down $19 or 0.9 percent at $2,124 a tonne.
* The market remained rangebound, underpinned by concerns that dry weather may hurt the mid-crop in top grower Ivory Coast while record high ICE warehouse stocks and plentiful global stocks added some pressure.
* The small and often secretive cocoa industry is losing one of its most influential figures, a 50-year veteran whose meticulous, market-moving reports, often from a war-torn country, will come to a halt this month.
OTHER MARKETS
* European shares slid on Wednesday as hopes for further economic stimulus in the United States faded and euro zone services sector data showed a deepening slump.
* The European Central Bank should hold interest rates at a record low of 1 percent on Wednesday and resist German pressure to flag an exit from its crisis-fighting mode as the euro zone recovery looks increasingly fragile and concerns grow about Spain. (Reporting by David Brough; Editing by Alison Birrane)
