Cotton, sugar, coffee and cocoa certainly belong, but orange juice and lumber are somewhat fringe members. Even the traditional four are linked with little more than sporting either colors identical or opposite their counterparts. Softs are the black and white of the industry indeed. At least one, lumber, can grow nearly anywhere, and sugar can begin either as a beet in chilly Ukraine or as cane in sweltering Brazil. The sugar cane season starts in September and ends the following August.
Sugar cane requires a moist, tropical climate to thrive.
Thus, it mostly comes from countries such as Australia, Brazil, Cuba, India, Mexico, South Africa, and Thailand. India is the world's largest producer of cane sugar. But the country consumes nearly all of its sugar, and lacks the infrastructure to increase exports dramatically. Instead, Brazil is the world's largest exporter. Conveniently, sugar beets grow well in cooler climates, such as Europe and the United States.