The Agricultural Futures Exchange of Thailand expects trading volume to reach 1,000 contracts per day this year as the global economic recovery helps drive demand and price gains for commodities.
The exchange also has plans to add new products, particularly those tied to biofuels, to help support market growth.
AFET president Nitus Patrayothin said rubber trading would certainly become more active in 2010.
"This year will be a good year for the commodities trade," he said.
Ethanol is one of the new products currently under study for launch in Thailand, as well as block rubber and sugar. Commodities currently traded on the AFET include rubber, rice and tapioca.
"We are studying the possible contract specifications for these new products, as well as what market demand might be," Dr Nitus said.
Turnover on the AFET averaged 886 contracts per day for the first 11 months of 2009, compared with a daily average of 601 contracts in 2008.
Trading rose last year thanks in part to government policies to auction off rice through the AFET. The Commerce Ministry last year offered some 700,000 tonnes of jasmine rice and 5% white rice through the exchange.
While the project is expected to end in March, 229,000 tonnes of 5% white rice and 20,000 tonnes of jasmine rice is still to be offered through the AFET.
Rice contract trade typically ranges from 100 to 150 contracts per day, although the AFET hopes to increase this to 500 per day by attracting new foreign and institutional investors to the market.
"To stimulate the market this year, AFET will develop a new business model to encourage more state agencies to take part in the futures market. Discussions with private associations are also underway on a plan to distribute accurate trading information on farm prices and production for investors," Dr Nitus said.
He said the AFET investor base still was small at just 3,000 trading accounts total with the exchange's six brokers.
(bangkokpost.com)
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