Pakistan’s commodity market recorded a significant milestone on April 23 as the first electronic trade of a locally grown, long-grain deliverable rice contract was successfully executed at Pakistan Mercantile Exchange Limited, marking what the exchange’s leadership has described as a defining moment for transparent, technology-driven agricultural trade in the country. The opening sell order was placed by Nida Tirmizi, General Manager at Meskay and Femtee Trading Company Private Limited, with the first buy order following at approximately 4:42 PM, placed by Om Prakash, a rice trader, completing the inaugural electronic rice transaction on the exchange. The contract was valued at Pakistani Rupees 862,500, though the significance of the trade extended well beyond its monetary value.
According to Khurram Zafar, Chief Executive Officer at Pakistan Mercantile Exchange Limited, the transaction marked a meaningful advance toward inclusive participation in Pakistan’s agricultural markets, transparent price discovery, and the promotion of Shariah-compliant, delivery-based commodity trading at an institutional level. Within the first hour of the pilot session, 16 trades were recorded and a total of 170 metric tonnes of rice changed hands under exchange supervision, indicating a level of early engagement that exceeded a symbolic opening gesture and pointed toward genuine market appetite for the product.
The achievement reflects more than a year of coordinated effort by the Pakistan Mercantile Exchange Limited team alongside key stakeholders including Meskay and Femtee Trading Company, Naymat Collateral Management Company Limited, SGS, and MetaQuotes Limited, with regulatory support provided by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan throughout the process. The pilot session is part of a broader and phased rollout plan, with Pakistan Mercantile Exchange Limited preparing to gradually open rice trading access to brokers and the general public in the months ahead, building on the infrastructure and market confidence established by this inaugural session.
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