SOFTS-Cocoa edges up, lagging origin sales weigh

* Ivory Coast, Ghana seen behind in cocoa sales

* Sugar producer selling seen at around 19 cents

* Vicofa coffee estimate lower than private sector's

(Adds quote, updates prices)

LONDON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Cocoa futures on ICE nudged higher on Tuesday but were still close to a seven-month low hit in the previous session, with anticipated origin selling weighing on market sentiment.

Raw sugar slipped on surplus supplies, and arabica coffee was steady.

March cocoa futures on ICE rose $19, or 0.9 percent, to $2,180 a tonne by 1504 GMT. They dipped as low as $2,157 on Monday, the weakest level for the front month since June 2012.

Liffe May cocoa futures rose 4 pounds or 0.3 percent to 1,436 pounds ($2,300) per tonne.

The cocoa market remained under pressure from expectations of forward sales from West Africa, combined with a pick-up in supplies arriving at ports of top producer Ivory Coast for export.

"Ultimately both Ivory Coast and Ghana are undersold in their forward selling, so that is the single biggest reason you are going to see more selling pressure at every rally," said Kona Haque, an analyst at Macquarie bank.

Port arrivals in Ivory Coast rose 42,000 tonnes between Jan. 21 and Jan. 27, up from 33,000 tonnes between Jan. 14 and 20., exporters estimated on Monday.

"Arrivals are catching up ... so that's providing a little bit of bearishness," Haque said.

"Most people are looking at a pretty big mid-crop."

SUGAR SURPLUS

Expectations for a third consecutive global sugar surplus continued to drag on sugar prices.

"I still think ultimately we are going to come lower because of the fundamental picture," a London-based broker said.

March raw sugar futures on ICE were down 0.27 cents, or 1.4 percent, at 18.46 cents a lb but remained above last week's more than two-year low of 18.06 cents.

Dealers said any potential upside would be limited by producer selling, with top grower Brazil expecting another bumper crop this year.

"There will probably be Thai and Brazilian selling at around 19 cents," the broker said.

Dealers said technical resistance was also seen at around 19 cents, while support was at around 18 cents.

"It's hovering around the 10-day moving average of 18.45," a second broker said.

March white sugar on Liffe fell $6.00, or 1.2 percent, to $488.40 a tonne.

Arabica coffee prices were supported by concerns that the disease roya, or leaf rust, will curb production in Central America.

March futures on ICE were up 0.2 cents or 0.1 percent to $1.4920 per lb.

"You could see the premiums for good quality washed arabicas going up as quality or exportable supplies start deteriorating," Macquarie's Haque said.

Central America produces around one-fifth of the world's arabica coffee.

However, given that arabica coffee futures prices are only slightly higher than where they opened 2013, there was talk that any damage from roya may have been overstated.

"Many people are saying the roya disease (impact) is being overstated because if the farmers make enough noise they will get more government assistance," said Haque.

March robusta coffee futures rose $4 or 0.2 percent to $1,946 a tonne.

Vietnam's 2012/2013 coffee crop harvest has ended with output easing by as much as 25 percent to 18.75 million bags, the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association (Vicofa) said, after a record high production in the previous season.

This is below the median forecast of 25 million bags from a Reuters poll earlier this month, but Vicofa's numbers are consistently conservative in comparison to private-sector estimates. ($1 = 0.6367 British pounds)

(Reporting by Sarah McFarlane; Editing by Anthony Barker and Jane Baird)