Hedge funds have made a mint this year betting on gold, and they hope their latest big commodity bet is just as sweet.

Hedge funds are investing in raw sugar futures in a big way, Bloomberg News reports, helping to double the price of the white stuff since the spring. Sugar last week traded at a 28-year high.

According to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, long bets on sugar are up 77% this year.

The saccharine investment looks like it will continue to pay off. Weather problems in such key sugar-production countries as Brazil and India continue to depress production, while an increasing amount of sugar cane is used in producing ethanol—rather than sugar. The International Sugar Organization is projected a 10.4 million ton sugar deficit this season, a record high.

Source: Finalternatives