SECP consults traders on e-trading via PMEX

ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) is committed to modernise agricultural commodity trading by encouraging traders to use the Pakistan Mercantile Exchange (PMEX) for buying and selling agricultural commodities in Pakistan.

SECP Chairman Zafar Hijazi said this at a consultative session with the agricultural traders of Faisalabad on Monday. The session was organised by the SECP to promote trading of agricultural commodities through the PMEX electronic platform. It aims to protect the interests of participants in the agriculture value chain, particularly farmers.

The chief executives of PMEX and Pakistan Agriculture Coalition (PAC), representatives of Agility Pakistan and SGS Pakistan also attended the session. 

Earlier, in August 2015, the SECP had approved red chilli futures contract as a pilot project, which is listed on PMEX, and provides a platform to red chilli traders in Pakistan for buying and selling red chilli contracts. To assess the pilot project, the SECP team along with the officers of PMEX and PAC recently visited Kunri, the red chilli hub of Pakistan. After successful launch of the pilot project, red chilli futures contracts in all available varieties are planned to be listed on PMEX in the near future.

The primary objective of the session with the commodity traders in Faisalabad was to consult them regarding the upcoming full-scale varieties of red chilli as well as create awareness about the availability of PMEX platform as a sophisticated mechanism for buying and selling agricultural commodities.

About 60 traders participated in the session to gain information about the various benefits of using PMEX platform, including quality-tested product, swift payment within 24-48 hours, price transparency and guaranteed delivery and settlement through the exchange’s mechanism.