SOFTS-ICE coffee, sugar firm, cocoa steady

* Big northern hemisphere crops weigh on sugar

* Concerns over dry weather in I.Coast underpin cocoa

* Slow robusta exports from Vietnam (Adds trade comment, updates prices)

By David Brough

LONDON, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Arabica coffee futures rose slightly in light investor dealings on Wednesday, while cocoa held steady, capped in part by concerns about the outlook for demand.

Sugar futures firmed, supported by tight supplies of Central American and U.S. sugars, dealers said.

Arabica coffee futures on ICE edged up 1.25 cent or 0.6 percent at $2.2640 per lb at 1502 GMT.

Dealers said the market continued to derive support from continued below-par production in Colombia.

March robusta coffee on Liffe stood $22 or 1.2 percent higher at $1,867 a tonne. The contract hit $1,712 on Jan. 9, the lowest level for the benchmark second month since October 2010.

"People are starting to get nervous about Vietnam's crop size as exports have been slow," a London-based broker said.

"Farmers are better capitalised than they have been in previous years, and can hold off selling."

The broker added: "From a spot demand perspective there are gaps and people are tempted to dip in the certified stocks."

Premiums of Vietnamese coffee prices to London futures narrowed in recent days following falls in futures prices, and trading has slowed after a brief pickup late last week before a long holiday, traders said on Tuesday.

Coffee exports from Nicaragua dropped to 52,120 60-kg bags in December, 45.7 percent less than was exported in the same month last year, the country's export board said on Tuesday.

Cocoa futures on ICE were steady with March standing up $4 or 0.2 percent at $2,274 a tonne.

"There is light arbitrage interest bringing support," said a senior cocoa futures dealer.

Dealers noted concern about the demand outlook after a lower-than-expected 1.8 percent rise in the European cocoa grind in the fourth quarter of 2011 and a 7.4 percent fall in the Malaysian grind during the same period.

Demand for chocolate is improving by the month, even in the more difficult markets of Southern Europe, the chief executive of chocolate-maker Barry Callebaut said in an interview on Tuesday.

The market remained supported, however, by fears that dry winds in Ivory Coast may curtail production.

"While demand indicators are coming in weaker than expected, the cocoa market is underpinned by fears that dry weather and the Harmattan winds in the Ivory Coast may weigh on production," Barclays Capital said in daily market update on Wednesday.

London March cocoa was down 6 pounds or 0.4 percent to 1,498 pounds per tonne.

Cameroon's only cocoa grinder Sic-Cacaos purchased some 25,114 tonnes by the end of December since the beginning of the 2011/12 season in August, according to figures issued on Tuesday by the National Cocoa and Coffee Board (NCCB) and the company.

SUGAR FIRMS

Raw sugar futures rose to stand near a two-week high on trade and investor buying, bolstered by a softer dollar and tight Central American and U.S. supplies.

Dealers said the market remained rangebound, however, with the upside capped by large crops in the European Union and Russia as well as the prospect of further exports from India. Recent rains in Brazil eased concerns over the production outlook in the world's number 1 sugar producer, dealers said.

Jonathan Kingsman, head of consultancy Kingsman SA, said tight availability of Central American sugars was supporting prices, but he said that he saw downside sugar price risk as the harvest in top grower Brazil approached.

March raw sugar futures on ICE rose 0.18 cent or 0.8 percent to 24.04 cents a lb after rising to a peak of 24.17 cents, below Tuesday's two-week high of 24.22 cents.

"It's better to sell into a rally than buy into a dip," said Thomas Kujawa of broker Sucden Financial.

London March white sugar futures were up $1.30 or 0.2 percent at $630.00 per tonne in thin volume of 1,519 lots.

Ukraine increased white sugar output to 2.34 million tonnes last year from 1.55 million tonnes in 2010, the Agriculture Ministry said on Wednesday. (Reporting by David Brough; Additional reporting by Sarah McFarlane and Nigel Hunt; Editing by Anthony Barker)