Thank tiny bugs and China's hungry pigs for agriculture winners

New York

INVESTORS who defied surpluses and low prices to make winning bets on agriculture in 2016 have tiny bugs and hungry Chinese pigs to thank for their windfalls.

Orange juice, which soared 34 per cent, was the biggest winner for crop and livestock markets. Futures zoomed as a citrus disease shrunk fruit production. The soya bean complex, which includes the vegetable oil and animal feed made from the beans, rallied as US exports to China surged. In contrast, there was pain for those who bet on cocoa or wheat, where supply remains plentiful.