A new power in sugar trading is buying unprecedented amounts of the sweetener on the US futures exchange, creating confusion in one of the world's most volatile commodity markets.

The power is Wilmar International, a Singapore-based agribusiness whose major shareholders include the family of Malaysian billionaire Robert Kuok and Chicago-based Archer Daniels Midland. Wilmar, founded 26 years ago, is one of the world's largest palm-oil producers but a relative newcomer in the sugar business.