Sebi extends futures trading ban on seven agri-commodities till March 31

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has extended the suspension of trading in derivative contracts for seven agricultural commodities, this time till March 31, 2025.

 

According to a notification, the suspension of futures trading in the seven commodities—paddy (non-basmati), wheat, chana, mustard seed and its derivatives, soybean and its derivatives, crude palm oil, and moong—was set to expire on January 31, 2025.

 

In December 2021, SEBI first announced the suspension of derivatives trading for five commodities/commodity groups—wheat, soybean, crude palm oil, paddy, and moong—for one year with immediate effect.

 

In addition to these five commodities, SEBI suspended chana and mustard seed/mustard oil futures contracts on August 17, 2021, and October 8, 2021, respectively.

 

Since then, the market regulator has been regularly extending the ban.

 

SEBI's press release did not mention the reasons behind the initial suspension or its subsequent extensions. However, it is widely believed that the suspension was aimed at taming rising commodity prices.