LONDON (Dow Jones)--European Union and world-wide lawmakers must curb purely speculative trading in raw foodstuffs, or at least publicly disclose such trades for the benefit of all market participants, a German confectionary association said Wednesday.
Dietmar Kendziur, chairman of the Association of the German Confectionery Industry, or BDSI, said, "Raw material prices for foods are being increasingly determined by the financial market and not by supply and demand. If the key pricing factors are not crop yield expectations on the one hand and demand and consumer behavior on the other, then free and fair market mechanisms are thrown off balance."
The BDSI said the most recent sign of speculative interference occurred over the summer on the London commodity futures exchange NYSE Liffe, a unit of NYSE Euronext (NYX). Liffe cocoa prices surged over the summer amid concerns over speculation, prompting a group of 16 European cocoa-trading companies and associations to write a letter to NYSE Euronext urging greater regulation. NYSE Euronext said it found no abusive behavior in the cocoa futures market and has since taken steps to improve transparency.
"Speculative transactions by banks and funds serving purely financial interests in raw foodstuffs such as cocoa and wheat should be restricted as far as possible or must at least be publicly disclosed," the BDSI said.
Dietmar Kendziur, chairman of the Association of the German Confectionery Industry, or BDSI, said, "Raw material prices for foods are being increasingly determined by the financial market and not by supply and demand. If the key pricing factors are not crop yield expectations on the one hand and demand and consumer behavior on the other, then free and fair market mechanisms are thrown off balance."
The BDSI said the most recent sign of speculative interference occurred over the summer on the London commodity futures exchange NYSE Liffe, a unit of NYSE Euronext (NYX). Liffe cocoa prices surged over the summer amid concerns over speculation, prompting a group of 16 European cocoa-trading companies and associations to write a letter to NYSE Euronext urging greater regulation. NYSE Euronext said it found no abusive behavior in the cocoa futures market and has since taken steps to improve transparency.
"Speculative transactions by banks and funds serving purely financial interests in raw foodstuffs such as cocoa and wheat should be restricted as far as possible or must at least be publicly disclosed," the BDSI said.