NEW YORK/LONDON, Jan 25 (Reuters) -

Arabica coffee futures rose to a three-week high on Wednesday as the market slowly regained ground after a prolonged decline, while cocoa futures also climbed.

COFFEE

* March arabica coffee settled up 2.6 cents, or 1.6%, at $1.6245 per lb after setting a three-week peak of $1.6330.

* Prices have been edging back up during the last couple of weeks after hitting a 1-1/2-year low of $1.4205 on Jan. 11.

* "We expect to see continued strength in the near term, but momentum is waning," Sucden Financial said in a technical note.

* Dealers noted that ICE certified stocks had stabilised after their recent climb.

* ICE certified coffee stocks rose to 863,594 bags as of Jan. 25, a six-month high, although more coffee was rejected than approved by ICE graders on Wednesday (5,322 bags approved, 12,413 bags rejected). There were 109,105 bags pending grading.

* March robusta coffee rose $27, or 1.4%, to $1,970 a tonne.

COCOA

* March New York cocoa settled up $7, or 0.3%, to $2,592 a tonne.

* Dealers said ongoing crop problems in No. 2 producer Ghana linked to swollen shoot virus outbreaks remained a concern, although the outlook remained generally favourable in other parts of West Africa.

* "This (a favourable outlook in Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Nigeria) has raised the prospect of a stronger-than-expected crop and could cap further upside for cocoa prices," fund manager Wisdom Tree said in a report on Wednesday.

* There have also been concerns about weakening demand following recent year-on-year declines in fourth-quarter grinds in Europe, North America and Asia.

* March London cocoa rose 10 pounds, or 0.5%, to 2,004 pounds per tonne.

SUGAR

* March raw sugar rose 0.23 cent, or 1.2%, at 20.11 cents per lb.

* Dealers said the market had derived support from news that state-run oil firm Petrobras was raising gasoline prices in Brazil, a move which could encourage mills to use cane to make biofuel ethanol rather than sugar.

* They also cited comments that India's government would confirm a ban on additional sugar exports for now.

* March white sugar fell $0.70, or 0.1%, to $547.00 a tonne. (Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira and Nigel Hunt; Editing by Alexander Smith and Paul Simao)