Factbox: Major ICE and NYSE Liffe agricultural markets

Following are the major agricultural futures contracts operated by the Intercontinental Exchange and its target NYSE Euronext .

A deal could be announced as early as Thursday, the source said, declining to be named because the discussions are private.

Cocoa - ICE Futures U.S. operates a cocoa contract with an average daily futures volume of around 25,000 lots.

NYSE Liffe also operates a cocoa contract with an average daily futures volume of about 15,000 lots.

While cocoa is seen as an area of possible overlap, the ICE contract has tended to attract cocoa from Indonesia and South America while NYSE Liffe has provided the main market for hedging cocoa from West Africa -- the biggest global producing region.

Coffee - ICE Futures U.S. operates an arabica contract with an average daily futures volume of about 25,000 lots.

NYSE Liffe operates a robusta contract with an average daily futures volume of around 12,000 lots.

Arabica is the leading species of coffee and accounts for about 60 percent of world production. The leading producer of arabica coffee is Brazil.

Robusta is the second most important species of coffee and accounts for around 40 percent of world production. The top producer is Vietnam.

Corn/maize - ICE grains operates a U.S. corn contract with an average daily futures volume of almost 1,000 lots.

NYSE Liffe has a European corn contract with an average daily futures volume of about 2,000 lots.

The global benchmark contract for corn is operated by the rival CME Group.

Cotton - ICE Futures U.S. operates a cotton contract with an average daily futures volume of around 25,000 lots.

NYSE Liffe does not have a cotton contract.

Orange Juice - ICE Futures U.S. operates a frozen concentrated orange juice contract with an average daily futures volume of around 2,500 lots.

NYSE Liffe does not have an orange juice contract.

Rapeseed/Canola - ICE Futures Canada (formerly the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange) operates a Canadian canola contract with an average daily futures volume of about 15,000 lots.

NYSE Liffe has a European rapeseed contract with an average daily futures volume of about 8,000 lots.

Canola is cultivar of rapeseed.

Sugar - ICE Futures U.S. operates the global benchmark contract for raw sugar, the No. 11 contract, which has an average daily futures volume of more than 100,000 lots.

NYSE Liffe operates a white sugar contract with an average daily futures volume of about 7,500 lots.

Wheat - ICE Grains operates a U.S. wheat contract with an average daily futures volume of almost 500 lots.

NYSE Liffe has a European milling wheat contract with an average daily futures volume of about 29,000 lots and a more lightly traded feed wheat contract with an average daily futures volume of around 500 lots.

Rival CME Group has a U.S. soft red winter wheat contract and through its recent acquisition of the Kansas City Board of Trade now also has a U.S. hard red winter wheat contract. CME Group also has a strategic partnership with the Minneapolis Grain Exchange which has a U.S. hard red spring wheat contract.

(Reporting by Nigel Hunt; Editing by Veronica Brown and Alison Birrane)