The ASX Grain Futures and Options market has now traded in excess of 14 million tonnes since inception. In terms of traded volume for the month of July, a new record has been set with more than 400,000 tonnes traded. Also, in excess of 50,000 tonnes were processed in the July delivery period.

The introduction of the proposed new trading hours will be confirmed when the listing date for WAW is confirmed. It is envisaged that the proposed new trading hours will maximise on-screen trading activity as well as service industry participants throughout Australia and Asia. 

All ASX Grain Futures contracts are ultimately deliverable. That is, if positions are not traded out, delivery must be either made or taken. Since inception, in excess of 1 million tonnes of Australian grain and oilseed has been delivered through ASX and this

To affect delivery, grain must be lodged in the ACH account held with an approved bulk handler. The stock holding report (PDF 30KB) , accessible through the ASX Grain Futures homepage, lists all the stock lodged in the ACH account that may potentially be delivered. ASX contracts can cover multiple port zones and as such the buyer could use the stock holding report to get a better understanding of the region in which it is likely that delivery will take place. Such a port zone is referred to as the 'port of least value' and can vary from season to season and possibly from month to month depending on supply and demand. 

Since liberalisation of export wheat marketing arrangements, much has been said about price transparency. ASX provides a daily activity report (PDF 160KB) which details the market activity for the preceeding trading day. If you would like to receive this report and benefit from the price transparency and market information please contact ASX.

The Australian Clearing House (ACH) has reviewed the Initial Margins for ASX Grain Futures as well as the Margin Intervals applied for ASX Grain Options. The new margins (PDF 29KB) became effective for open positions as at the close of business 23 July 2009. The ASX website provides more information on margins and how they are applied. 

There are a number of brokers servicing the ASX Grain Futures market. If you are interested to know more about how you can become involved, view the broker contact list.

If the world of derivatives and hedging is new to you, you may find the services of a risk management adviser particularly useful. View the list of ASIC licensed risk management advisers.