Sugar Futures

It is hard to imagine a world without sugar. In fact, with no sugar, all life would be wiped out since DNA and RNA are made up of sugar. Perhaps because we can’t imagine life without it, sugar has had a significant impact on world history. The first noted production of sugar took place in the Indian subcontinent thousands of years ago, but it was not until we invented mass-production and transportation did the sugar market expand to international importance. Brazil is, without a doubt, the highest producer of sugar to date. Today, sugar granules are derived largely from sugar cane or sugar beet, but regardless of the source, the end product is the same.

Sugar Contract Specifications
Product Symbol	SB
Contract Size	112,000 pounds
Price Quotation	Cents and hundredths of a cent per pound to two decimal places
Contract Months	March, May, July and October
Minimum Fluctuation	1/100 cent/lb., equivalent to $11.20 per contract.
Settlement Procedure	Physical Delivery, FOB receiver’s vessel
Grade/Standards/Quality	Raw centrifugal cane sugar based on 96 degrees average polarization.
Daily Price Limit	none
Delivery Growths	Growths of Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ecuador, Fiji Islands, French Antilles, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Malawi, Mauritius, Mexico, Mozambique,Nicaragua, Peru, Republic of the Philippines, South Africa, Swaziland, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad, United States, and Zimbabwe.
Delivery Points	A port in the country of origin or in the case of landlocked countries, at a berth or anchorage in the customary port of export.
First Day Notice	First business day after last trading day.
Last Trading Day	First business day after last trading day.
Last Notice Day	Last business day of the month preceding the delivery month (except January, which is the second business day before the 24th calendar day of the prior month).
Trading Hours	Trading Pre-Open NEW YORK: 2:30 AM-2:00 PM 02:30-14:00 08:00 PM 20:00 LONDON: 7:30 AM-7:00 PM 07:30-19:00 01:00 AM 01:00 SINGAPORE: 2:30 PM-2:00 AM 14:30-02:00 8:00 AM 08:00
Source: ICE

Sugar Facts

Sugar cane is what impacted the vast world sugar trade. Sugar cane is a hot weather plant and was first cultivated in the Caribbean and Brazil when Columbus introduced the plant. Currently, the largest producing areas are in South Asia, Brazil, the Caribbean and the Southern U.S. (Florida, Louisiana, Texas and Hawaii). Sugar cane is a perennial and is grown from cuttings or pieces of the stalk. Of all the sugar produced, 75% are processed from sugar cane.

As sugar beets are grown in cool temperate areas, it is mainly cultivated in the Northern Great Plains, Germany and France. The sugar is contained in the root of the beet but is identical to the sugar in canes. Sugar beets are annuals grown from seeds and are planted in the spring to be harvested in the fall. The sugar processed from beets make up 25% of total sugar production.

Source: ICE, Barchart

Last updated May 2013

Additional Info

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