Rice experts have discouraged Singapore from setting up an international futures trading market on the Asian staple, saying it will not help in price management.
“Rather than supporting the proposal outright, many rice sector experts advocated a cautionary approach to considering an international rice futures market in Singapore,” said the centre in its reports on the findings of the experts who met in March this year.
“Some experts indicated that a rice futures market would reflect rather than improve current market conditions, including price volatility and complex trade dynamics,” it said in the report released this week.
The experts were concerned about the impact of rice futures on the region’s food security, said the report, adding that they were uncertain about how such market would affect the security of the poor in terms of food and livelihoods. Full story
