Corn starch futures will drive the upgrading and development of China's corn industry chain
After a long wait, corn starch has finally been approved for listing, which means the futures market will provide new guaranteed support for the extension and development of the corn processing industry.
On the 21st, a spokesperson for the China Securities Regulatory Commission stated that the CSRC has approved the Dalian Commodity Exchange [Weibo] to list corn futures, with the listing time to be decided by the exchange itself. According to information disclosed on the Dalian Commodity Exchange website, the CSRC gave its official approval on the 21st.
⟦NL> At present, the Dalian Commodity Exchange is actively making preparations. As usual, the next step will be for the Dalian Commodity Exchange to release a draft for public comment on the corn starch futures contract and related rules, and then release the futures contract and related rules, and after submitting them to the CSRC, select an opportune time for listing.
With the development of the times, the industrial value of corn, once a staple food grain, has become increasingly prominent, and corn starch is a major product of corn deep processing. Corn starch is a processed product of corn and a basic raw material for many industries such as starch sugar, beer and pharmaceuticals, occupying an important position in the national economy. China is the world's second-largest producer and consumer of corn starch.
A relevant person in charge of the biochemical business unit of COFCO Group once said that, as an important raw material for multiple downstream industries, corn starch does not have high requirements for corn quality; even third-grade grain can be used to produce corn starch, and its industrial application value is no different from that of first-grade grain. Carrying out corn starch production plays a positive role in solving the difficulty farmers face in selling grain and in converting state treasury reserves into corporate commercial reserves.
In 2013, China's corn starch output was about 23.5 million tons, with an output value of about 65.8 billion yuan, and apparent consumption was about 23.4 million tons. But in fact, since the implementation of the corn temporary storage policy began in 2008, China's corn starch industry has been affected by restrictive factors such as high raw material and product prices and difficulty in obtaining raw materials, and the industry as a whole has faced losses.
In addition, in recent years, under the influence of the substitution effect, the impact of imported cassava starch on the corn starch market has continued to expand, causing corn starch prices to fluctuate greatly and frequently, and spot enterprises have a strong demand for hedging.
Industry experts believe that conducting corn starch futures trading is conducive to improving the sequence of futures varieties in the corn industry chain, broadening the scope of the futures market in serving the real economy, improving the price formation mechanism, providing risk-avoidance tools for related enterprises, and promoting the healthy development of the industry.
At present, many large domestic grain and grain processing enterprises are actively preparing for the listing of corn starch futures.