FAIR VALUE PRICING OF AGRICULTURAL FUTURES IN SOUTH AFRICA

In the South African agricultural (specifically grain) markets an interesting phenomenon exists: where futures and options on grain products exist (i.e. white maize, yellow maize, soy beans, wheat, and sunflower seeds) price discovery in the spot (also known as “cash”) markets is poor, whereas price discovery in the futures markets is considered respectable. Consequently, whenever a spot deal is undertaken, this price is “derived” from the relevant futures market. This severely anomalous phenomenon will be evident: futures are generally labeled “derivatives” because their prices are “derived” from their spot markets, whereas here we have a situation where spot prices are derived from their futures price (specifically the price of the near – as opposed to far – future). Because of this unusual phenomenon the mathematics involved is not readily available in the literature; this article is an attempt to briefly outline the phenomenon and to present the relevant mathematics.