An expert committee, whose report is being awaited by the government to decide whether futures trading on essential commodities should be banned, has found no firm evidence that such trading was leading to rise in prices.
"It cannot be concluded emphatically whether futures trading has in any way fueled increase or volatility in prices of agricultural commodities," the committee's draft report said.
The government had set up an expert committee under the chairmanship of Planning Commission member Abhijit Sen to study the impact of futures trading on prices of agricultural commodities.
Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Minister Sharad Pawar had assured Parliament last week that government would take a decision on whether or not to ban futures trading in food commodities after 10 days if the Sen Committee did not submit the report by then.
Sen had told PTI on last Thursday that he would submit the report this week for which the draft was circulated among the members of the Panel on Saturday.
Delisting of tur, urad rice and wheat from the futures market has not made any difference in the price movement of these commodities, the report observed.
The committee pointed out that blaming the commodity market for fueling inflation is not unique to India and it is a global phenomenon and markets get accused in the developed countries such as the US too.
In view of criticism about futures trading, the report said it is essential to minimise the potential adverse impact of futures trading on prices of agricultural products.
"Well functioning futures markets have the potential of bringing about price stability over medium to long term," the Panel said, while observing that these markets help in price discovery and price risk management.
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