The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has revealed that the Osaka Commodity Exchange has applied for a shift to full-scale rice futures trading, but at this point it does not meet the approval criteria.
We will hear opinions from the exchange on the 5th of next month and make the final decision.
On the 16th of this month, the Osaka Dojima Commodity Exchange, which has been the only experimental rice futures contract in Japan since 2011, applied to the country to move to full-scale trading.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has conducted an examination on this, but on the 28th, it was revealed that there are some points that do not meet the approval criteria at this time.
Regarding the reason, while the amount of transactions, which has been an issue so far, has increased and meets the standards, the number of producers and distributors participating in futures trading has not increased, and the intention to use it in the future is insufficient. It explains.
As an exchange, rice futures trading has the advantage of stabilizing income for farmers because the price of rice to be harvested in the future is determined in advance.
On the other hand, some agricultural organizations are opposed to targeting rice, which is the staple food, as a target for futures trading, which has the image of speculation.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries will hear opinions from the exchange on the 5th of next month and make the final decision.