JSE Director of Commodities Chris Sturgess says they decided to waive the JSE fee to allow especially new entrants to the trade platform to get involved:

“What we sensed is that because these are new entrants, they were reluctant to try out the contract just to see how it works. Our idea was to introduce a fee holiday.

“It expires at the same time as the December beef contract, which will be on December 15. Any trading activity until then will qualify. There are players who have traded March positions, and at the moment you can also take out a position for June and September next year.”

The beef futures contract was introduced late last year. Sturgess says they have done a lot of roadshows and education this year but admits more work still needs to be done.

He says they are also finalising work on the introduction of a weaner contract, which could come into play in the first quarter of 2017.

- OFM News