London, July 2 - Fortis on Thursday revised down its estimate for a projected global cocoa deficit in 2009/10 to 56,000 tonnes, down from a previous forecast for a deficit of 64,000 tonnes.
The investment bank also revised its outlook for 2008/09 to a surplus of 10,000 tonnes from a balanced market.
Global grindings in 2009/10 were seen rising to 3.66 million tonnes, up from an estimated 3.47 million in 2008/09 but still down from 3.71 million in 2007/08.
"This estimate for 2009/10 is obviously heavily contingent on external factors - not least the certainty of global economic stabilisation and, eventually recovery," Fortis said in a monthly market report.
Production in 2009/10 was seen at 3.61 million tonnes, marginally up from a previous forecast of 3.60 million and well above the prior season's 3.48 million.