By Stephen Wright

WELLINGTON, New Zealand--The New Zealand and Singapore securities exchanges said they have agreed to explore the development of a dairy derivatives market in the city-state.

NZX Ltd. and Singapore Exchange Ltd. will consult with market participants and seek regulatory approvals to list NZX's dairy derivative contracts on SGX, they said in a joint statement Tuesday.

New Zealand accounts for a small percentage of global milk production but exports most of what it produces, making it the world's largest exporter of dairy products.

Developing a more-liquid and international market in New Zealand dairy futures would improve capacity to manage price risks in a global industry prone to large cyclical shifts in supply and demand.

The companies said they hope a derivatives partnership can be finalized in the first half of 2021.

Eight futures and options contracts related to dairy commodities such as whole-milk powder and butter are currently traded on NZX.

Write to Stephen Wright at stephen.wright@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-13-20 0112ET