Industry players welcome relaunch of NCDEX Black Pepper Futures, call for strict regulations

Industry stakeholders have largely welcomed the NCDEX Ltd’s decision to relaunch the Black Pepper Futures with which the SEBI-regulated stock exchange expects to revive “a pricing mechanism that had been absent from India’s commodity markets for over a decade.” Traders and growers have highlighted the price discovery angle of the mechanism even as raising the need for proper checks and balances.

NCDEX recently announced that the black pepper futures contract will start trading from July 15 with Kochi designated as the delivery and pricing centre. Initially, four contracts expiring in August, September, October, and November will be available for trading.

The stock exchange is returning into the foray after it suspended the black pepper futures contract in 2010 following severe quality disputes. It has received SEBI nod to relaunch the contract now reportedly following litigation, frozen trading and legal hurdles that lasted over a decade.

S.V. Prabhakar, a spices grower from Idukki, welcomed the return of the contract saying it ensures a hedging mechanism that shields traders against unfavourable price fluctuations. However, he pointed out that the unit of trading – 1 metric tonne – fixed by the exchange may not be practical for producers. “It should be brought down to 200-250 kg. The contract may remain a non-starter if they insist on 1000 kg,” Mr. Prabhakar said.

Anil Kuruvila, professor and head, Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Agriculture, Vellayani also welcomed the contract saying it would help domestic players in price discovery without depending on external markets, including Vietnam, the global leader in pepper production.

Anand Kishor, president, India Pepper and Spice Trade Association, meanwhile cautioned that the relaunch of the contract should take into consideration the lessons from the past. He said there were instances where multi commodity exchanges allowed speculators to go rampant to sustain heavy volumes. “The foundation of a commodity exchange market is price discovery mechanism, not a price disruption. We urge SEBI to ensure that the reintroduction of pepper futures should be in a controlled manner and there should be strict checks and balances. They should ensure that everything is done in a level playing manner,” he said. He also stressed that SEBI-approved quality assessors should be handling the whole delivery ecosystem including warehouse.

Arun Raste, Managing Director and CEO, NCDEX, said that relaunch of Black Pepper Futures is an effort to bring that benchmark home to create a transparent, credible and India-centric reference price for the trade.