With the market regulator Forward Markets Commission (FMC) lifting the ban on sugar futures, leading commodity exchanges like the MCX and NCDEX are looking forward to relaunch their derivative products and have begun discussions with the regulator, senior officials said today.
"We are having discussions with the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) and awaiting its approval to launch sugar futures," National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) Product Head Uma Mohan told PTI.
"We are in complete readiness to launch sugar futures, as and when we receive FMC nod," an official with Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) said.
Commexes received enquiries from sugar processors as well as traders as to when the contract would be up and running, the official said.
FMC on Thursday lifted the ban on trading in sugar futures, as retail prices of the sweetener have dropped by 40 per cent since January and a bumper output is expected in 2010-11.
We are discussing with all the exchanges to re-launch sugar futures. We will allow them as soon as possible, FMC Chairman, B C Khatua, said.
The government had banned futures trading in sugar in May last year to control prices in the domestic market.
India is the world's second-largest producer and biggest consumer of sugar and has been importing the commodity from February 2009 to meet domestic demand.
However, the sugar output in 2010-11 (October-September) is expected to rise to 25 million tonnes from 19 million tonnes last sugar year, against an annual demand of about 23 million tonnes.