Govt withdraws ban on trading in wheat futures

The government has withdrawn the ban on trading in wheat futures following which the Forward Market Commission (FMC) has written to all national-level commodity exchanges to launch new contracts after getting a nod from the commodity market regulator.

Former finance minister P Chidambaram, in his budget speech for 2008-09, had announced the delisting of all wheat and rice contracts.

Following the FMC communique, commodity bourses – MCX and NCDEX – are involved in designing new contracts. Industry analysts opine the move will benefit farmers and the agri sector.