SASKATOON (Staff) – A new trading contract for barley has gone into effect at the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange.
At a special meeting last week, members of the exchange approved the implementation of a new revised western barley futures contract. Trading was to begin March 7 with the March 1997 contract.
However, producers will have to wait a little longer for a revamped flaxseed contract to go into effect, as members of the oilseeds committee voted to carry out one more review.
Exchange president Fred Siemens said in a press release the exchange wants to be sure the new flaxseed contract provides users with a price discovery mechanism that best serves users.
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The new barley contract will include alternate delivery based on regional price discounts throughout the barley growing regions of the prairies and is based on delivery certificates backed by WCE members who are licensed as grain dealers by the Canadian Grain Commission.
The trading months for the new contract are March, May, July, October and December.
Writing in the latest issue of the Western Barley Growers Association newsletter, Paul Cassidy of the Western Agricultural Trade Association said the new trading months represent an improvement over the old contract.
“These months match more closely the trading months of corn, which may encourage cross commodity spread trading,” he said. More people in the market make it easier for players to enter and leave the market without unduly affecting prices.
He said the new months also closely match the cash trading periods of the underlying cash market, which makes it a more effective place for hedging.
