USSEC Singapore, together with the Northern Crops Institute (NCI) and North Dakota State University (NDSU), hosted the Southeast Asia Commodity Risk Management Workshop 2015 from April 27-29 in Singapore. NCI and NDSU are partnered by QSSBs from several states, namely the North Dakota Soybean Council, South Dakota Soybean Research and Promotion Council, and Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council.
Attended by 29 customers from regional grain and oilseeds trading firms, the Risk Management Workshop was conducted by three specialist instructors from the U.S.: Frayne Olson from NDSU, Jay O’Neil from IGP at Kansas State University and Sue Goll of Sue Goll Commodities Consulting, Inc.
Held over three days at the Pan Pacific Hotel, the workshop laid the foundation for risk management moving progressively to risk mitigating strategies specific to trading in the grain and oilseed market.
On the first day, the speakers outlined the global outlook for grain and oilseeds, tools for fundamental analysis, risk management overview and the relationship between the cash and futures markets. Topics covered on the second day included trading and hedging, futures spreads, technical analysis, and analysing and managing basis. Ms. Goll also presented an introduction to options, with calculation exercises for participants to test their understanding. In-depth presentations on options as a procurement strategy, contract strategies and accounting controls wrapped up the final day, with all participants receiving a certificate and group picture each for their attendance.
The Risk Management Workshop series is one of USSEC’s longstanding customer focus programs. This event has enabled USSEC to reach out to customers by providing them with technical knowledge and market information to help them make independent and informed buying decisions. Educating customers on price and risk management practices helps to mitigate price concerns over quality considerations.
One participant, Aman Sethi of Noble Agri, a major grain supplier, particularly appreciated having gained from the expertise of three speakers from the U.S, as the speakers’ farm experience contributed to their credibility and holistic analysis of the market.