After a year of lower prices, sugar exchange traded funds could finally see some support as the U.S. government considers taking a large chunk of sugar off the market.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is thinking about purchasing 400,000 tons of sugar to support defaulting U.S. sugar processors, reports Alexandra Wexler for the Wall Street Journal. A final decision will be made as early as April 1.
The move would bolster profits for companies that turn sugar beets and sugar cane into granulated sweetener, but this would also translate to higher retail food prices.
“Clearly, the USDA has made up its mind that Big Sugar is going to trump the American consumer,” Pierson Bob Clair, president and chief executive at Brown & Haley, said in the article.