Comexes' turnover up by 47 pc despite slump in agri-futures

NEW DELHI: With the ban on futures trading in eight farm commodities still lingering, commodity exchanges have lost over 32 per cent of their business in agri-futures even as the total turnover rose by 46.90 per cent to nearly Rs 28,00,000 crore during 2008-09 till October 15.

The agri-commodities business on commodity exchanges clocked during the review period Rs 3,36,431 crore, down by 32.37 per cent from the previous year, the commodity market regulator Forward Markets Commission (FMC) said in a release.

Experts attributed the ban on eight farm commodities like pulses, potato and soya oil as the main reason for the slump in agri-futures trading.

The government suspended futures trading in rice, wheat, urad and tur without setting any timeframe, while the other four -- rubber, soya oil, potato and gram (chana) -- have been banned till the end of this month.

However, during the October 1-15 period, the total turnover of the three national exchanges and 19 regional exchanges increased by 39.48 per cent to Rs 2,05,590 crore as compared to the year-ago period, according to FMC, which releases trade data every fortnight.

As per the FMC data, the turnover of the leading exchange, Multi-Commodities Exchange, stood at Rs 1,85,045 crore, while the leading agri-commodity bourse, National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange, recorded a business of Rs 18,134 crore. Ahmedabad-based National Multi-Commodities Exchange registered a turnover of Rs 1,019 crore.

Among the regional bourses, Indore-based National Board of Trade made a business of Rs 439.74 crore, while the Surendranagar Cotton and Oilseeds Association's turnover stood at Rs 317 crore in the second fortnight of September.