HardAssetsInvestor

Written by Amine Bouchentouf  |

July 31, 2011

The Commodity Investor: Finding Sugar’s Sweet Spot

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Watching developments in Brazil is crucial for investors looking to profit from commodities’ movements.

Editor’s note: Today we begin the column “The Commodity Investor” by Amine Bouchentouf. He will appear every other Monday. We hope you enjoy the column.

Sugar prices have jumped nearly 50 percent since May, driven by production concerns in Brazil, the biggest producer and exporter of this commodity. For investors, this creates an opportunity in an important commodity that may not receive as much attention as crude oil, but which is nevertheless as much of a global commodity as its slick counterpart.

Sugar is important because of its dual-use applications: It is a commodity used for both agricultural purposes (as a food sweetener, additive, etc.); and in the energy field, specifically as a feedstock for sugar-based ethanol fuel production. Whereas several decades ago 100 percent of sugar harvests went toward food applications, an increasing amount of harvest is currently used to produce biofuels.

In countries such as Brazil, almost 60 percent of cultivated sugar is now used toward ethanol production. This dual use has put additional strains on global production capacity. Investors should not ignore this development.

Sugar is produced from two sources: sugar cane and sugar beets. More than 70 percent of sugar is produced by refining raw sugar extracted from sugar cane, while the rest is produced by processing sugar beets.

Te main producers of sugar include Brazil, India, China, Thailand and the United States. But here’s what you need to know about the sugar industry: Just like Saudi Arabia dominates the crude oil market, Brazil is the dominant player in the sugar market.

Currently, Brazil accounts for roughly one-third of world sugar output and more than 50 percent of global exports. This means that any change in Brazilian sugar production will have an immediate consequence on sugar prices. Put simply, you cannot successfully trade the sugar markets without keeping a very close eye on Brazilian sugar production numbers since they are a key market driver.

When Unica, the Brazilian sugar cane industry association, announced lower production numbers the first week of July, prices jumped 7.8 percent. A combination of cold temperature and aging fields decreased production and sucrose levels, which was enough for the market to send prices higher.

For exposure to the sugar markets that does not involve trading the futures contract, I recommend you take a look at the following exchange-traded notes: the iPath DJ-UBS Sugar TR Sub-Idx (NYSEArca: SGG) and the iPath Pure Beta Sugar ETN (NYSEArca: SGAR). SGG tracks the sugar subindex component of the Dow-Jones UBS Commodity Index, thereby giving you direct exposure to the futures contract underlying the index. The more recently launched SGAR tracks the Barclays Capital Sugar ETN and also gives you direct exposure to the futures contract.

If you were to choose between the two, I recommend SGG since it provides you with more liquidity. Also, from a pure performance perspective, SGG is more reactive, having appreciated 35.96 percent between April 25 and July 25 to SGAR’s 29.62 percent over the same time period. Both ETNs have an expense ratio of 75 basis points.

Another way to get exposure to the sugar industry is through the equity markets. One company I recommended to investors this year is the Imperial Sugar Co. (NasdaqGS: IPSU), which was trading at $12.50 when I made the call.