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