Like Dad finally putting down an old, sick dog, the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange has ended the agony of the long ailing flax futures contract.
It’s a death that flax farmers, marketers and processors have long dreaded, but knew was inevitable.
“We’ve had to get used to it,” said marketer Brian Johnson of Johnson Seeds in Arborg, Man.
On Oct. 28, the WCE board of directors approved a Sept. 8 decision by management to delist the contract, which had not traded since December 2004. There are no plans for a revival.
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Flax middlemen like Johnson were fans of the WCE contract because it helped them bridge the risk between buying crop from farmers and selling it to processors. Small grain companies now must be more careful so they don’t get caught paying too much or selling for too little.
That’s something they’ve had to do since the contract’s problems developed, said Johnson.
“It would be nice to have it for immediate hedging, but you just have to work harder with your growers and build very good relationships.”
The flax contract was one of the first three contracts at the Winnipeg exchange, first listed in 1904.
