Commexes close '09 with record turnover of Rs 70 lakh cr

Commodity exchanges in the country closed the year 2009 with record turnover of Rs 70,90,442 crore, up by 40.85 per cent from Rs 50,33,872 crore in the previous year.

Higher turnover was despite ban on few farm commodities such as rice, urad, tur and sugar and delay in passing of the Forward Contracts (Regulation) Amendment (FCRA) Bill, which will not only allow options and indices but also put FMC at par with stock market regulator Sebi.

The data, compiled by commodity market regulator FMC, showed that leading commodity exchange MCX clocked the highest business of Rs 59,56,644 crore among 24 commodity exchanges in 2009.

MCX, where bullion and energy are largely traded, was able to make 39 per cent jump in its turnover amid high volatility in gold and silver prices during last year.

The turnover of leading agri-commodity bourse NCDEX surged by over 28 per cent to Rs 8,05,707 crore in 2009 following the re-launch of suspended commodities like chana, soya oil, potato and rubber during 2008-end.

Going forward, FMC aims to achieve Rs 80 lakh crore in 2010. "We hope to see the passage of FCRA Bill this year and also want to bring back all banned commodities on the futures platform to achieve the turnover target of Rs 80 lakh crore in 2010," FMC Chairman B C Khatua had said recently.

The FCRA bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in 2008.