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Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Sugar




It tripled in price here in Argentina this year alone, and even at almost 2 USD per Kilo you are limited to three packs per family in most supermarkets. This year, at times there simply wasn’t any to be had.
Just had a phone call with a friend in USA, he’s got good info that sugar prices will be going up soon even more in USA.
Sugar has unlimited shelf life if stored moist free, its one of those staple foods you’re always using, no matter how much you have you’ll end up using it eventually.
Do yourself a favor and buy a good amount of it next time you go to the supermarket.
You’ll get that warm fuzzy feeling when you see the prices go up and you already have a couple of years of it stashed.

FerFAL

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

add salt to the list.
commodities, in general, are going up in price. since the USA doesn't have
coffee plantations, it might be a
good idea to stock up on coffee.

Anonymous said...

Just bought 25 pounds of white granulated Sugar from Sam's Club, in Texas, for just under $18 USD.

Get it while it's cheap folks!

Matt said...

Due to how I'm payed and some other reasons, I've alsways bought groceries about every two weeks. The last two years my list has always included the same basic commodities. Flour, Sugar, Oils, Salt etc. I purchase whether I need them or not. Adds roughly 10-15$ to my bill. It has allowed me to build a stock with little effort. I prefer smaller quantities (5lb bags) because it gives me greater flexibility in storage and allows me to easily give some away.

DaShui said...

Que Pasa Amigo Mio,

I was looking at bags of dog food and I was wondering why they came in random strange weights:28 pounds, 44 pounds,etc....
I realized that originally they were probably 50 pounds or 30 pounds, but the "put in less, but leave the packaging the same" trick is going on.
Still think America is not turning into a banana republic?

dc.sunsets said...

"Things are going up in price."

Not true. They've GONE up in price, an historical fact that is not a reliable reason to forecast a continuation of the trend.

Those who "stocked up" on oil in the summer of 2008, as it was in a near-parabolic, speculation-driven spike, got creamed as it fell from $147/bbl to below $60 in the ensuing 9 months. Oil is $83.64/bbl today, over two years after its spike high.

Look at charts of sugar, coffee, and other things at http://www.cmegroup.com/trading/agricultural/softs/coffee.html (this is coffee, obviously).

Parabolic moves like these are usually speculator-driven. Prices may continue to rise, but after a doubling in 5 months, is sugar going to double again? Don't be surprised if it does not.

Dave said...

Hey ferfal,

Read one of your articles on a forum and I gotta say that was a very interesting read! A lot of things you mentioned are on the spot and makes more sense than what most people say to get prepared or what not.

Like the idea of being low-pro instead of running around with an AR like most people prepare.

I'll probably get a copy of your book since I really enjoyed reading about your experience.

Anonymous said...

As of last summer/spring futures prices for oats, rice, wheat are up 54%+. Sugar up 100% in the last half in just 3 months. These are record highs. When looking at the price of anything, a chart, note when there higher lows and higher highs. Prices can come down from here, yet the extreme price movements in commodities correlates with a fundamental problem in a economy. If one has noticed the price of precious metals, we are seeing a continued correction upward. Prices there will be increasingly volatile, especially in silver as it goes higher. Only something like 2% of Americans understand what gold is. At the height of the last bull market, 15% bought silver. Gold at the time was illegal to own.

And today, China and Russia announced that they will no longer be using the dollar in their transactions. If it were not for the North Korean stunt, strengthening the dollar, we would have seen a reaction to this news in the markets immediately even though some of that news was already priced in. How convenient it must be for the Chinese to have an at arms length bully friend do the dirty work. Yes they can have it both ways as they maneuver and brace for the real and continuing collapse of the dollar and trade wars, and then the real thing.

Folks, this economic stuff is both easy and difficult to understand. A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, so step back and look at the big picture and don't pretend that everything is Okay by hanging on some reassuring indicator. Ur reading this for a reason, and that's because we know everything is not okay. Buying food is the single most important move you can make, an investment and insurance that you can literally eat. a

Anonymous said...

I'm glad I hardly ever eat the stuff. We've got a bunch stored, but I just don't use it. I could tap trees or follow bees and have more than I'll need. The only time I open the sugar jar is to make coffee for visitors.

I had a dental overhaul in about 1990 and it was a lesson to me, after that, No More Sugar.

Anonymous said...

BTW, if one has a storage or a mobility problem that prohibits buying enough food as a hedge, then silver would be good at this price. Yes it can go lower, but it will go higher. This will be a rocket ride up and down by several dollars per day as stage two kicks in. If you can't handle the G's, lighten the load as it gets scary, but 'hold for the gold' with at least some in the pocket. Good Luck. a

ghpacific said...

Don't forget honey. It never goes bad and can be used as wound dressing. I think you had this on your blog, but here it is again, http://www.scribd.com/doc/6013314/Survival-Top-100-Items-to-Disappear-First

Anonymous said...

Not a food item, but cotton prices are extremely high right now and retailers expect clothing prices to go up quite a bit next year. Take advantage of the holiday sales and stock up on clothes before January. I plan on stocking up on socks and underwear.

Anonymous said...

David, I expect to see commodities "rise" in price, but what is actually happening (besides speculation) is the continued deterioration of the fiat-currency dollar. Everybody KNOWS the dollar is worthless by now, but nobody wants to be the one to cause the stampede.

The dollar has already gone through a devaluation, don't believe me? The price of gold has gone from $250/oz 10 years ago to $1400/oz today, but the "price" of gold didn't rise, the dollar lost value. If the dollar devalued to 1980 levels, the "price of gold" would be over $5000/oz.

So the dollar is devaluing, and that means that "inflation" is rising (inverse relationship) as the dollar marches on to be worth less than the paper it's printed on. The fiat currency world system is dying.

Anonymous said...

Buy fabric and learn to sew. More practical and way more cheaper than buying clothes.

Heavy, durable fabrics, like flannel and denim.

Learn to make leather gloves and moccasins.

(sorry, got off the sugar topic)

I drive my tractor in pearls... said...

Sugar is always in my cart when I go to the grocery store. I buy all sizes and even stock up with 25# bags. I stock up like one of the previous commentators - flouer, oil, salt, yeast, Ramen (love the stuff), and some other things. I always get "do you bake?" when I am checking out.

Socks and underwear have been added to the list recently. Something about my boys, but they think socks are disposable (or at least they wear that way) - sigh....

Anonymous said...

Read the SUGAR BLUES
and many other books

I dont' use sugar, hard on the heart, etc.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/04/20/sugar-dangers.aspx

if this link does not work, go to mercola.com and type in sugar

russell1200 said...

David makes a good point.

I wonder how much of the Brazilian sugar is being turned into fuel? Could be a factor.