He said that trading in the two commodities might be either in separate exchanges required to be set up for the purpose, or be accommodated in the existing 24 commodity exchanges in the country.

In all, nearly 27 commodities, including oil and oilseeds, were being traded in the commodity exchanges.

The FMC chairman said that the intention of the government was to consolidate and strengthen futures trading in commodities as futures market was the closest approximation to a perfect market in a free economy.

He said that futures trading was helpful for the manufacturer, trader and the consumer as prices determined by way of hedging were more efficient. Otherwise, the consumer would have charged higher prices due to the absence of hedging, Mishra noted.

Mishra said that the WorldBank had sanctioned an amount of Rs 50 lakh for training in futures trading which had to be spent within a time span of two years. In this regard, he said that in the month of October, FMC would organise a special training programme for exchange directors to become familiar with the trends emerging in international futures markets.

Speaking at the 22nd annual general meeting of East India Jute and Hessian Exchange Limited, Mishra said that the exchange was currently facing tremendous financial crunch as expenditure was exceeding its annual revenue.

According to him, the shortfall in revenue was of the orderof 16 per cent at Rs. two lakh for the year 1998-99. To help improve financial viability, he urged upon the members to pay their subscription money in time.

He also criticised that the exchange, considered to be the foremost in the country, was not having an effective dispute settlement body as a result of which members were filing lawsuits every now and then.

The FMC chairman suggested that aproper arbitration forum be set up so that disputes were settled within the exchange only.