EUREX Milestone: Futures European Processing Potatoes (FEPP) passed 100.000

The international derivatives exchange Eurex has recently reached a further milestone in the agricultural derivatives segment. Last week, futures contracts on European processing potatoes (FEPP) traded in the order book passed the 100,000 mark for the first time since their launch.

"The Eurex future on European processing potatoes is a very important price hedging instrument for the entire central European potato industry – from farmers to the processing industry. We are very satisfied with the liquidity the market has achieved in the past few months, and aim to continue contributing to this success,"commented Rene van Diepen, Director of the Dutch Organisation of Potato Merchants (Nederlandse Aaardapple Organisatie – NAO).

"We are delighted to have achieved the 100,000-contracts mark in less than two years after we started trading in July 2009. We would like to thank all market participants for their support and confidence in this contract. Not only the volume but also an increasing number of trading participants in the derivatives market for potatoes confirms our decision to launch agricultural derivatives,"said Peter Reitz, member of the Eurex Executive Board.

The Eurex offering currently comprises six agricultural futures on butter, European processing potatoes and potatoes for the British market (London potatoes), hogs, piglets and skimmed milk powder. All futures are based on recognized reference prices from the relevant cash markets and are settled in cash. Further expansion of the product segment is planned in close cooperation with the agricultural industry.