On the morning of November 8th, the egg futures contracts, China's first futures product of livestock and fresh produce, were listed and traded on Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) with the listing opening up a new field of China’s futures of agricultural products. The listing of the futures, also the third futures product listed on DCE this year, increases the number of the futures products traded on DCE to 12 and the number of the listed products on China’s futures market to 37.
At the press conference on the listing of the egg futures held on the morning of the day, Liu Xingqiang, Party Chief and President of DCE, said in his speech that as a product with a long history, the egg futures were listed on Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the U.S. as early as over a hundred years ago,it used to be an active product in the U.S. futures market playing an important role in promoting the development of the egg industry in the country. Later, with the improvement of the intensive laying hens farming and the less demand of the enterprises for hedging in the United States, the egg futures' impact on the market gradually fell, resulting in delisting in the end.
Liu said that the listing of the eggs futures in the domestic futures market is of special significance. First, the listing of the egg futures, China’s first livestock futures product, will open up a new field of China’s futures of agricultural products, playing a positive role in improving the hedging system for China’s feed and farming industries and promoting the healthy development of the laying hens farming. Second, as a non-staple food favored by urban and rural residents and people with different customs and living habits, the egg is closely related to people’s life, and the listing of the egg futures will help people learn and get familiar with the futures market as well as the popularization of financial knowledge. Third, through trading egg futures, more people will get to know about Dalian's futures market,it will also help DCE to gain more attention and support,whilst serving the market and the national economy.
Liu also said that the egg is a product featuring difficult delivery, close connection with the people’s life and highly complex and sensitive nature, but with the correct guidance of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) and relevant ministries and commissions, DCE is confident in making the egg futures a complete success, enabling the futures to play a positive role in the national economy and the urban and rural residents’ life. He finally pointed out that the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee is to be held in Beijing soon and will make a general deployment in fully deepening the reform in China, and we believe that under the leadership of the new leaders, China’s reform and opening up will enter a new development stage and the futures market will usher in a new phase of innovation and development.
Li Xirong, Director of the National Animal Husbandry Master Station and Executive Vice President of the China Animal Agriculture Association (CAAA), pointed out in the speech that the laying hens farming industry has played a leading and pioneering role in the development of China’s modern animal husbandry. The listing of the egg futures is of great significance for the development of the laying hen farming and even the entire livestock industry. First, the listing provides the egg producers and the relevant enterprises with a hedging instrument helping the enterprises stabilize the production, improve the operation and strengthen the ability of resisting the risks; second, the listing will promote and popularize of the egg industry standards more rapidly and further improve the quality safety of the egg products; third, the listing will help curb the tremendous impact brought about by the industry cyclical fluctuations; fourth, the listing will facilitate the introduction of the industrial and commercial capital and the optimization of the industrial structure so as to contribute to more employment and farmers' income.
Li also hoped that after the listing of the egg futures, DCE could make effective efforts in promotion and training to help the enterprises understand, get familiar with and make good use of the futures instrument as soon as possible. The CAAA is ready to strengthen the cooperation with DCE, make concerted efforts, bring the market role of the egg futures into full play and boost the sustainable and healthy development of the entire laying hen industry. He also expected DCE to introduce more livestock futures products, and make helpful explorations and attempts in setting up and improving the futures hedging system of the livestock products, so as to better serve the development of the animal husbandry.
At the press conference, Yang Guang, deputy director of the No. 1 Futures Department of the CSRC, read out the “Official Reply on Dalian Commodity Exchange Carrying out the Trading of the Egg Futures and Listing the Egg Futures Contracts” issued by the CSRC. Lu Lin, Vice Mayor of Dalian, inaugurated the listing of the egg futures contracts.
At the press conference, Yang Guang, deputy director of the No. 1 Futures Department of the CSRC, read out the “Official Reply on Dalian Commodity Exchange Carrying out the Trading of the Egg Futures and Listing the Egg Futures Contracts” issued by the CSRC. Lu Lin, Vice Mayor of Dalian, inaugurated the listing of the egg futures contracts.
When hosting the press conference, DCE General Manager Li Zhengqiang said that DCE will persist in implementing the requirements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, and in strict accordance with the relevant instructions of the CSRC, intensify the market supervision, guard against the market risks, improve the relevant systems, and actively develop all the market services, in a bid to ensure the stable and sound development of the egg futures market and better serve the general economic and social development.
Attending the press conference were the representatives of the relevant ministries and commissions, the industry organizations, the relevant exchanges, the units of the laying hens farming, the warehousing and the quality inspection and the futures companies as well as the reporters of more than 40 domestic and foreign media.
At present, China’s breeding stock of laying hens has reached 1.5 billion with an annual egg output of nearly 30 million tons and over 10 million employees as well as a total annual output value of over RMB 350 billion generated by the related industries of breeding hens, laying hens, egg retailing, feed, veterinary drugs and vaccines, etc.