MCX to Begin Trading in Rubber Futures Soon

MCX shall begin trading in Rubber futures soon. MCX is the national exchange dealing in Commodity Trading.  Rubber tree is a native of the Amazon River basin in South America, and also found in the fluid of some specific plants. It can also be produced synthetically.  

India is the fourth largest natural rubber producing country of the world, next to Thailand and Indonesia, and its share in global production is nearly 9 per cent. The major domestic markets of rubber are Kottayam, Kochi, Kozhikode and Kannur in Kerala. Rubber area in India is highly concentrated in this state, approximately 80% in Kerala. Therefore, MCX has considered Kerala as the benchmark market for its product. Deliverable variety specified by the MCX is RSS4 with Basis center is Palakkad in the state of Kerala.  

The recommended rubber growing regions should have locations around 8 degree North of Equator, 10 degree South of Equator, high temperature, with altitude below 400 m and high humidity. In India the Natural rubber (NR) processed into blocks and this product is marketed with BIS specifications (IS4588 - 1986). Therefore, this rubber is termed as Indian Standard Natural Rubber (ISNR). The rubber growing regions in India can be classified under two major zones, traditional and non-traditional, on the basis of agro-climatic conditions. The hinterlands of southwest coast, mainly in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu and Kerala are included under the traditional zones.  

The Non-traditional zones include the major areas where rubber is now being grown. These are hinterlands of coastal Karnataka, Goa, Konkan Region of Maharashtra, hinterlands of coastal Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, the northeastern states, Andaman and Nicobar Islands etc. Among non-traditional region Tripura has become one of the most thrust areas for Rubber growing in recent years because of its well acceptance worldwide.  Interestingly Tripura has been declared the "Second Rubber Capital of India" by the Rubber Board of late.  

Imports have increased in last few years due to a significant price difference between domestic and overseas markets, raising concerns among growers. So in order to safeguard the interests of domestic producers, imports of natural rubber of all varieties/forms are limited to two sea ports of Chennai and Mumbai. Given below is some important information with respect to MCX Rubber futures contracts. Rest of the contract details is available in the exchange website under the Circular section.   

1. TRADE TIMINGS  

9:00 am – 5 pm (IST)  

2. PRICE QUOTE 

Rs per Quintal (100 Kg)  

3. CONTRACTS AVAILABLE AT LAUNCH ON MCX 

January 2021 to April 2021 contracts  

4. DELIVERY AND TRADING LOT 

1 MT (1000 Kgs)