Dalian Commodity Exchange announced Thursday that trading of corn futures will begin on the exchange on September 22.

Altogether six types of contracts will be listed for trade, easily identifiable by their prefix code of C0501, C0503, C0505 and so on, a reference to the six contracts of next year, due in January, March and May and ensuing three other months respectively.

The exchange also said that the maximum daily moving range of the corn contracts would be set at 10 percent on the first trading day and 4 percent later on.

The locations of settlement for corn contracts are in Dalian and Yingkou, both coastal cities of northeast China's Liaoning Province.

Corn futures, the third new futures product approved by the Chinese authorities this year, also brings a long-expected new member to the foodstuff futures.

Fuel oil futures resumed on the Shanghai Futures Exchange last month and cotton futures were introduced in Zhengzhou in June.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission announced the approval of the corn futures launch in Dalian last month.

China is the world's second biggest corn consumer, with an annual output of 120 million tons, which accounts for about one third of the entire grain output in the country.

It is also estimated that more than 500 million farmers are involved in the planting of corn in China.

With this year's corn harvest season approaching, the time is right to launch corn futures, which will help farmers to set the selling price according to market demand and adjust their planting plans next year, analysts said.

The move is expected to improve the incomes of farmers. And as a hedging tool, corn futures will also help relevant domestic enterprises to hedge risks brought by price fluctuations.

It will also give them a bigger say in the price formation of corn products on the international market.

(China Daily September 10, 2004)