(FE)
In a first for the country, finance minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday launched options trading in a farm commodity on National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) and affirmed the move will enable farmers to hedge their price risks better. NCDEX has introduced options in guar seed, one of its most important products in the futures segment. It is the second exchange to launch options trading after MCX but the first one to introduce an agri options product. Stressing that options trading is one of the tools to ensure farmers get remunerative price for their produce, Jaitley said: “We see in some places the problem of falling prices because of higher production. Farmers are not getting the right price for their produce. Many steps have been taken in the last few years to take farmers out of this situation. There has been some positive impact,” he said. The finance minister said agriculture is the top priority for the government, because an overwhelming portion of our population is dependent on it.
