The Law on Commodities Exchange on which a Public Debate is being conducted, regulates for the first time the field of commodity stock business in Serbia.

Assistant to the Minister of Foreign and Internal Trade and Telecommunications Dušаn Prоtić said that that law will significantly improve trade in agricultural products.

“Having in mind the structure of the Serbian economy and the share of agricultural products in the total exports of Serbia, as well as the interest of foreign investors for agribusiness, significant improvement in the trade in agricultural products is expected. The Law will improve the trade guarantee system; it will significantly reduce the costs of contract conclusion and the business risk, particularly the risk of failure to fulfill obligations, delivery of goods of adequate quality and quantity, and the risk of changes in market prices of materials”, said Prоtić.

He pointed out that the ability of stakeholders to effectively manage risks and plan their business operations will contribute to their competitiveness in the international market.

According to him, the Law on Commodities Exchange regulates trading in standardized market materials, including goods and forward contracts.

Prоtić explained that numerous mechanisms are designed to manage risk and protect the participants of the commodities exchange market, such as the protection of the fund that provides financial resources for compensation in the event of failure of the counterparty to fulfill his obligations, as well as the Stock Exchange Court that would allow the professional and effective resolution of any disputes among the participants.

“A comprehensive system of control is designed involving the internal control of the commodity exchange and external review by the Commission for Securities, as an independent regulatory body”, added Prоtić.

To facilitate access to commodities exchange market and in order to leave the interested parties with a choice, the law provides that representation in trading in the commodities market may be performed by an authorized stock exchange officers, as well as by employees in the commodities exchange.

“The aim of the law is the regulation and organization of fair, transparent and effective markets of standardized market materials that will facilitate matching supply and demand, provide fair pricing and business planning, and eliminate non-market risks”, said Prоtić.

The Public Debate on the Law on Commodities Exchange will last until November 28, 2013.