April 20, 2009

Exchange operator ASX Ltd. plans to allow trading of Western Australia milling wheat futures and options on May 25, it said in a brief statement issued Monday (April 20).

This proposed listing date will be confirmed once regulatory clearance has been approved and relevant agreements have been finalized, it said.

Initial margins are currently being reviewed for the existing ASX Grain Futures contracts and are likely to change before the proposed listing date. However, it is expected that the initial margin for WAW will be similar to that applied for existing Australian milling wheat contracts, it said.

Typically, most wheat exports from Australia are from Western Australia with production in east coast states mostly servicing the domestic market.

Of a 21.4 million tonnes national wheat crop produced last crop year ended March 31, almost 15 million tonnes is available for export.

Western Australia accounted for 8.9 million tonnes, or 42 percent, of the national output and, with only a limited domestic market, nearly all this is available for export, making the state a major supply source to the global trade.