CME To Begin Trade-Incentive Program For LatAm Ag Companies
June 15 2009 - 1:20PM
Dow Jones News
Derivitives exchange CME Group (CME) said Monday that on Aug. 1
it will begin a program to encourage electronic trading of CME and
Chicago Board of Trade agricultural products by Latin American
agriculture companies.
CME's new program, called Latin American Commercial Incentive
Program, aims to encourage commercial agricultural hedgers to
receive discounted trading fees for electronic trading.
"We hope that this program will incentivize [Latin American]
agricultural companies to trade electronically," said Mary
Haffenberg, spokeswoman for CME.
Haffenberg said agriculture companies can get, for example,
discounts of 22% for electronic trading of the soybean futures
contract on CBOT.
A nonmember customer currently pays $1.81 a side to buy or sell
a soybean futures contract. Qualified participants in the new
program will pay $1.41, she said.
CME didn't provide details about the number of companies already
trading or hedging or their targets for the program.
Steve Cachia, a grains analyst at consultancy Cerealpar, said
hedging and electronic trading is limited mainly to large exporters
and multinationals. "There is space for more participation," he
said.
Brazil is the world's No. 2 soy trader after the U.S., and
Argentina is the largest soymeal exporter.
-By Tony Danby, Dow Jones Newswires; 55-11-2847-4523;
Anthony.Danby@dowjones.com