Commodities Markets - On The Road with Rod Blondin

“The agricultural derivative market in South Africa grew from nothing to a world market trading futures and options contracts in grains in a space of 5 years. A system of warehouse receipts was developed for delivery on the market and traded volumes increased from a total of 3343 contracts in 1996 to 1 969 346 contracts in 2002.” This week’s IPO-VID talks to the man who went on the road to make that growth happen…

Rod Gravelet-Blondin has a lifetime of experience in agricultural economics having been Agricultural Counselor at the South African Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland responsible for South African agricultural representation at the GATT (now WTO.) and Agricultural Counselor at the South African Mission to the European Union in Brussels, Belgium responsible for agricultural relations between South Africa and the European Union.

Thereafter Rod made a magnificent career quantum leap, becoming the marketing and product guru of the South African Futures Exchange (SAFEX) in 1995 where his legendary road trips built a market across the vast geography of South Africa.

Podcast:

Take a listen as Rod sheds light on the intricate challenges that impact price transmission and contribute to the enhancement of producer income in the African contex.