Commenting on the feat, NMCE Managing Director Kailash Gupta said: “Indian Rubber futures has proved to be the international benchmark as Rubber price setter for the first time this year,”
“Futures trading with transparent and robust final settlement system greatly helps true price discovery. NMCE prices have discovered February series prices in January, much before Tokyo, Singapore and Thailand exchanges. As can be seen in January, the prices in international exchanges left behind by about Rs.15 per kg, while their prices are higher than Indian prices now.," Gupta said.
He said during the year 2000 to 2002, Rubber Board had carried out a detailed study regarding rubber futures in international markets as the Indian rubber prices were adversely impacted to the disadvantage of Indian rubber growers.
Hence, the Board approached Forward Markets Commission (FMC) for permitting futures trading in rubber.
The NMCE Managing Director said since NMCE introduced rubber futures in the year 2003, the growers have been benefited in terms of price, standardisation of quality of rubber and stability in prices, which is being appreciated by all stakeholders till recently.
" Only a very limited number of vested interests are against futures trading from the beginning and are trying to create confusion and sensation out of the current Rubber prices based on actual demand and supply for prompt and in lean rainy season to come when tapping gets affected,” he said.
A large number of plantation and spices growers, investors and other players in Kerala trade on the NMCE’s electronic platform, as it is backed by robust and reliable delivery settlement system of the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) and finances from Punjab National Bank (PNB).
Similarly, the physical delivery of pepper, another highly traded commodity at NMCE, in February series stood at 52 MT, against 3,508 MT of total volume traded, the ratio of delivery to volume being 1.48%.
In case of cardamom, it was 39 quintals of physical delivery, accounting for 0.56 per cent of 6,912 quintals of total volume of the commodity traded at NMCE.
India produces about 60,000 MT of pepper and 12,000 MT of cardamom, accounting for 20 and 30 per cent of the global production of the respective commodities. Pepper is harvested during December-March and cardamom during July-October.
At present, NMCE runs futures contract in 198 series in 70 commodities, some series are more traded than others.
NMCE has been promoted by CWC, Punjab National Bank (PNB), NAFED, Gujarat Agro Industries Corporation, Gujarat State Agriculture Produce Marketing Board (GSAMB), Jaipur-based National Institute of Agricultural Marketing and Neptune Overseas Limited.
