The dominos fall: Sugar prices the latest to skyrocket

[n2doc]

Sweeter than gold or oil
Commentary: Sugar to take center ring in commodities circus
By Kevin Kerr, MarketWatch
Last Update: 12:34 PM ET Apr 28, 2006

New York (MarketWatch) -- Looking at a chart of sugar back in 1979, I now understand why my grandmother had a garbage can filled with the stuff in her basement.
Commodities are the greatest show on earth right now and one resource that's about to defy gravity is sugar. Sugar prices in the next 12 months could surge, even double as key producing countries like Brazil refine sugar based ethanol as fast as they can. Demand for ethanol as an alternative fuel is suddenly a "have to" not a "want to" for U.S. refiners. The U.S. is going to need much more ethanol this year as refiners are switching from using the water-polluting additive methyl tertiary butyl ether, MTBE, to ethanol to mix with gasoline. When crude oil prices hit an all time record high of $75 per barrel in April sugar growers, like top producer Brazil ramped up their production of cane into ethanol to meet anticipated demand. Raw sugar prices, which rose over 60 % last year, surged to a 25-year high of 19.73 cents per lb. in February.

One other factor that is always an uncertainty for the commodities sector is weather. This is especially true in places like India and the United States. The weather is showing no signs of cutting the world a break this year either. A cyclone has already struck Australia's cane farms, possibly crippling supplies in coming months from that region.

Link:
http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B33F609DF%2DE310%2D45D1%2D985B%2DF2E53B996863%7D&siteid=mktw&dist=

Comment: Think about how many things have sugar or high fructose corn syrup in them. We are just seeing the first wave of a new inflationary spiral.

Imperial Sugar's stock price: (does this remind you of any other companies, say, some oil or refinery co's, perhaps?)
http://ichart.finance.yahoo.com/z?s=IPSU&t=5y&q=l&l=off&z=m&a=v&p=s

[Roland99]

1. If the real inflation rate was known, the markets wouldn't be so enthused

[Duer 157099]

2. if they can make ethanol with HFCS, that's probably a very good

thing.

Getting it out of our food sounds good to me

[n2doc]

5. Corn is already used to make ethanol

That's why Archer Daniels Midland has been pushing the use of ethanol so strongly. There are lots of alternatives to ethanol in the biofuels area.

I'd love to see HFCS usage get lowered/ eliminated too, but what is more likely is that we will see these costs passed on. Gotta keep people hooked on their sweet, empty fake food.

[MADem]

3. Sugar went absolutely CRAZY back in the 70s, too

It was to the point where the news had lengthy stories about the skyrocketing prices.

During the time, I took a jaunt to the Carribean, where the sugar prices were dirt cheap. I didn't buy much of anything during my visit, had a half empty suitcase, so I went to the grocery store and bought about twenty or thirty pounds of really nice, "sugar cane" sugar in these charming, small little clear plastic bags--the stuff was local, no brand name, no nothing. Each cost a few pennies...I figured I could give them to my dear old aunties, who loved to bake and were on fixed incomes.

Well, guess who got stopped at CUSTOMS????

The agent almost had a cow when he opened my bag, and initially didn't believe me when I told him it was sugar. I said "Taste it, you nitwit--doncha watch the NEWS???" He gathered his cohorts around, we sliced open a few of them, gave 'em a taste, looked 'em all over and finally, they let me go...after I demanded some tape so I could close them back up. I got it, too!

The customs guy laughed his ass off the whole time I was hauling my bag out of the 'sterile area.' That's back in the day, though, when they had senses of humor....

[Sgent]

4. Sugar

is almost a monopoly.

We pay 3X (or more) the world market rate for sugar due to quotas and import restrictions -- which is a major reason for the use of HCFS and alternative sweetners.

[SoCalDem]

6. I am currently hoarding Domino Granulated Brown Sugar

It's harder than hell to find, and when I saw it online, I bought 5 lbs of it :) neenerneener

[SmokingJacket]

7. Sounds great!

One more excuse for me not to buy unhealthy crap for my kids.