Sugar is widely used, as a sweet tasting carbohydrate is present in several forms, including glucose, fructose, sucrose, lactose, dextrose and maltose.

Sugarcane is grown in regions with tropical or subtropical climate, one of the major producers include Brazil, India and China. The sugar beet, however, which is the source of 25 % of the total sugar production, can be grown in warm climate regions is more rigid.

The major producers of sugar beet are Europe, Japan and the USA.

MAIN APPLICATIONS

• Human consumption
• Biofuels

THE SUGAR MARKET

They both exchanged contracts for raw sugar (raw) and refined (white).

Sugar futures are the larger market of the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) and are traded since 1914. In addition, Euronext LIFFE markets contracts for sugar on its electronic platform.

The factors that affect the price of sugar are:

• Climate
• Technology
• Demand for ethanol
• Health Consequences