The participants in the debate whether commodity trading has added to commodity price inflation waits to the findings of the Abhijith Sen Committee. Committee is expected to submit its report to the government
The committee was set up by the government to study the impact of futures trading on the rise in prices of agricultural commodities. It was formed amid allegations from various quarters that a robust futures trading was impacting the spot prices of various commodities.
The Forward Marketing Commission (FMC) which is about to get statutory power with regard to the regulation of the commodity markets and trading has rejected the inflation- commodity trading nexus. It is indicated that many committee members also shares the feeling of the FMC.
The committee has got three important terms of reference. Firstly, the committee has to examine whether there has been any unusual increase in commodity prices since 2006. Secondly, the committee has to examine whether commodity trading has resulted in price hike. The ability of commodity trading as a platform for the farmers for price discovery of agricultural commodities is another subject matter of the committee’s enquiry.
Recently, many analysts attributed commodity trading as a cause for increasing price for essential commodities like wheat and rice. In this context, it is interesting to get the observations of the committee on this matter. Besides how the committee can establish the link between futures trading in food grains and food price inflation is also interesting. It is widely expected that the committee may recommend a ban in trading of food grains.
