| Our Bureau,
Total futures trading in rubber stood at 2,50,678 mt
Ahmedabad March 23 National Multi-Commodity Exchange (NMCE) has set a new record in physical delivery of 4,193 tonnes (mt) of rubber in the March 2007 series that expired last week.
This takes the cumulative physical delivery of rubber since the beginning of the futures trading of the commodity at NMCE to 34,805 mt in less than four years. Rubber stock in Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) has also reached a record high of 15,115 mt, according to a release here on Friday.
The total volume of futures trading in rubber at NMCE in the March 2007 series was 2,50,678 mt. The ratio of physical delivery to total volumes traded stood at 1.67 per cent, indicating the depth and liquidity of futures trading at NMCE. In the case of cardamom too, it was a new high of 368 quintals of physical delivery in the March 2007 series, which account for 2.06 per cent of 1,08,798 quintals of the commodity traded in the particular series on NMCE terminals. The current pepper stock on NMCE account has also reached a record high of 7,950 mt.
The physical delivery of pepper, another highly traded commodity at NMCE in the March 2007 series, stood at 1,915 mt, as compared to 1,08,798 mt of the total volume traded, the ratio of delivery to trade being 1.76 per cent.
Production
India produces about 8-lakh mt of rubber annually, accounting for 15 per cent of the world's production. It is harvested between September and December. The country also produces about 12,000 mt of cardamom and 60,000 mt of pepper, accounting for 30 and 20 per cent of the global production of the respective commodities.
Cardamom is harvested during July-October and pepper during December-March. Incidentally, a large number of rubber and spice growers, investors and other players in Kerala trade on the NMCE's electronic platform, as it is backed by delivery settlement system of CWC and finances from Punjab National Bank (PNB), the release said.
At present, NMCE runs futures contract in about 200 series in 70 commodities, including bullion, metals, oilseeds, edible oils, sugar, gur and pulses. NMCE has been promoted by CWC, PNB, NAFED, Gujarat Agro Industries Corporation, Gujarat State Agriculture Produce Marketing Board (GSAMB), National Institute of Agricultural Marketing and Neptune Overseas Limited. |