v3.8.0.1
OTHER CURRENT ASSETS
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2017
Deferred Costs, Capitalized, Prepaid, and Other Assets Disclosure [Abstract]  
OTHER CURRENT ASSETS
OTHER CURRENT ASSETS
Other current assets consist of the following:
(US$ in millions)
 
September 30,
2017
 
December 31,
2016
Unrealized gains on derivative contracts, at fair value
 
$
1,024

 
$
1,327

Prepaid commodity purchase contracts (1)
 
418

 
273

Secured advances to suppliers, net (2)
 
377

 
601

Recoverable taxes, net
 
459

 
467

Margin deposits
 
277

 
251

Marketable securities, at fair value and other short-term investments
 
544

 
94

Deferred purchase price receivable, at fair value (3)
 
123

 
87

Income taxes receivable
 
235

 
181

Prepaid expenses
 
147

 
148

Other
 
277

 
216

Total
 
$
3,881

 
$
3,645

 
(1)
Prepaid commodity purchase contracts represent advance payments against contracts for future delivery of specified quantities of agricultural commodities.
(2)
Bunge provides cash advances to suppliers, primarily Brazilian farmers of soybeans and sugarcane, to finance a portion of the suppliers’ production costs.  Bunge does not bear any of the costs or operational risks associated with the related growing crops.  The advances are largely collateralized by future crops and physical assets of the suppliers, carry a local market interest rate, and settle when the farmer’s crop is harvested and sold.  The secured advances to farmers are reported net of allowances of $1 million at September 30, 2017 and $1 million at December 31, 2016. There were no significant changes in the allowance at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively.
Interest earned on secured advances to suppliers of $7 million and $7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively, and $34 million and $25 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively, is included in net sales in the condensed consolidated statements of income.
(3)
Deferred purchase price receivable represents additional credit support for the investment conduits in Bunge’s accounts receivables sales program (see Note 13).
Marketable Securities and Other Short-Term Investments - Bunge invests in foreign government securities, corporate debt securities, deposits, and other securities. The following is a summary of amounts recorded on the condensed consolidated balance sheets for marketable securities and other short-term investments.
(US$ in millions)
 
September 30,
2017
 
December 31,
2016
Foreign government securities
 
$
521

 
$
28

Corporate debt securities
 
21

 
57

Certificate of deposits/time deposits
 

 
7

Other
 
2

 
2

Total marketable securities and other short-term investments
 
$
544

 
$
94


As of September 30, 2017, total marketable securities and other short-term investments includes $1 million of assets classified as available for sale, $541 million as trading and $2 million as other short-term investments. As of December 31, 2016, total marketable securities and other short-term investments includes $22 million of assets classified as available for sale, $63 million as trading and $9 million as other short-term investments.  Held-to-maturity foreign government and corporate debt securities and certificate of deposits/time deposits are expected to be converted to cash within a twelve month period and are therefore classified as current. Due to the short term nature of these investments, carrying value approximates fair value.