NCDEX FY13 volumes seen at record high: official

Volumes on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) may hit a record high in the year ending March 31, 2013 as oilseeds contracts make up the gap left by a suspension of guar futures, a senior exchange official said.

NCDEX volumes have already risen 13% in rupee terms so far this year April to August despite a ban on guar futures to try to curb rising domestic market prices as inflation remains a sticky issue for New Delhi.

"The number of participants have increased and the product base has also increased," said K. Anand Kumar, chief of corporate services for the NCDEX, adding players had seen the advantages of hedging.

"The guar ban has made no difference," he told Reuters on Tuesday.

Futures in guar -- which soared on the back of demand from the shale oil and gas industry -- were banned by the regulator, an arm of the trade ministry, in late March.

It was the latest in a series of bans and relistings of commodity futures products such as wheat, chana and sugar on the recommendation of the regulator. Guar, tur, urad and rice are yet to be relisted.

Volumes at NCDEX have touched 7,889 billion rupees so far this fiscal year and could jump to surpass the previous year's record of 18,102 billion rupees. Oilseeds contracts have accounted more than 55% of this.

India is the world's biggest importer of edible oils and a drought this year spurred local prices to a record high in August. The consuming industry has boosted hedging business on the futures platform, Anand Kumar said.

The exchange plans to launch more than two agricultural contracts this fiscal to spruce up volumes further.

"As and when existing contracts consolidate, we will get into new products," said Anand Kumar.

Currently, foreign brokers and investors are not allowed in commodity markets in India, one of the largest buyers of bullion and the second-biggest producer of wheat, rice, cotton and sugar.