On Tuesday, record traffic was recorded on the futures exchange, which ASX officials believe underlines the growing acceptance of the product.

ASX manager of agricultural derivatives Dougal Hunter said the growth of ASX grain futures products underscored the importance of such a tool in a deregulated Australian market.

He also said there had been strong demand for a futures product that followed fundamentals more closely than some markets, such as the Chicago Board of Trade, which are strongly influenced by investment fund dollars, leading to criticism from those within the trade looking for a clearer market signal.

“The ASX Grain Futures market provides all market sectors involved with Australian grain with a significant marketing / risk management alternative that accurately reflects the underlying physical marketplace,” Mr Hunter said.

He said that while the tonnages traded on the ASX were modest in an international context, the market growth in the futures products had set a solid platform on which he envisaged more significant growth can occur.

And the increased traffic is far from a one day fluke, with the ASX grain futures market achieving a record quarter of market activity over the harvest period with more than 2.4 million tonnes traded from November through to the end of January.

The traded volume is up 96 percent on the previous corresponding period, due to a combination of organic growth and the exchange offering a product in Western Australia.

Mr Hunter said the exchange’s foray into the Western Australian market was gaining momentum, trading more than 1.3 million tonnes since it was set up in September last year.