Natural rubber consumers want future trading to stop

18 Nov 2011 Evaluate

Natural rubber consumers led by the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA) and the All-India Rubber Industries Association (AIRIA) have asked for immediate suspension of futures trading in rubber.

Alleging speculation in the futures market turning detrimental for the physical markets, ATMA in a letter to the Forward Market Commission has pointed to the recently-expired November contract where the open position was of 1,491 tonnes as on November 1, while stocks in warehouses were just 110 tonnes putting the contract under pressure till expiry.

The natural rubber consumers see this phenomenon harmful as farmers and traders get misguided by temporary and illogical trends and tend to hold stocks, while on the other hand, consumers have no option but to contract imports. Also this speculative character of futures trade adversely affects the regular rubber traders who physically buy rubber from farmers and sell the same to consumers.

Recently, Cochin Merchants Association too has communicated the issue to the Union Minister of State for Food and Consumer Affairs, saying that though delivery effected by futures is only 16,000 tonnes in a year, the speculators transact 24 lakh tonnes in the exchanges creating heavy volatility in the prices.

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