AGRICULTURAL FINANCIAL MARKETS

The course is part of the educational free choice student training activities by the Master's Degree in Economics and Finance.
The aim is to outline the economics of the international market for agro-food commodities and to provide knowledge of specific management tools for futures markets, highlighting the competitive strategies of the farmers, processing and trading firms. Further goal is to provide concepts and tools to understand and evaluate the future markets that have agricultural and food products as their underlying.The instructional goals are the knowledge of the elements identifying the supply and demand of agricultural commodities, influencing the price formation and its volatility both in a short and long-run, the acquaintance of the rules of functioning of the futures markets for agricultural products, the skill of the hedging operations carried out, especially by agricultural producers, processors, traders, the cognition of the characteristics of contracts of specific kind of products, such as contracts on livestock, those on storable products, the comprehension of the management of price risk of the warehouse, highlighting the most suitable management strategies of the different categories of operators.

1. Knowledge and understanding.
1.1 Detecting the determinants of the supply of agricultural commodities, especially in the different evolution of short and long-term price cycles.
1.2 Representing the functions and operational mechanisms of agricultural futures markets.
1.3 Identifying the market operators and the various hedging transactions that can be implemented.
1.4 Focusing on the management of specific contracts, such as those on livestock and the management of the warehouse price risk.
1.5 Hypothesizing the most suitable according to the operators and their economic objectives.
2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding.
2.1 Using the economic theory to identify the price cycles of the supply on short and long-run.
2.2 Representing the functioning mechanisms and basic rules of the futures market for agricultural products.
2.3 Choosing the operational strategies of the various economic subjects involved in the markets.
2.4 Discriminating the operational problems associated with temporal and spatial variables.
2.5 Building an efficient supplying strategy through the futures markets for agricultural processing firms.
2.6 Managing an operational position in agricultural futures markets.
3. Ability to judge.
3.1 Interpreting the functioning of the futures markets in the light of the variables related to the supply and the various economic operators involved.
3.2 Selecting the opearative strategies according to the purposes of the different market operators.
3.3 Planning supplying operations through the futures markets of trading and processing companies far from the place of supply.
3.4 Conducting autonomously the study and the deepening of analysis through research projects, the elaboration of market reports.

Mandatory priority Exams: none.
Prerequisites: basic skills in Economics (micro and macro) and Mathematics (first module). Basic skills in demand and supply models and market forms.

1. Agricultural supply economy, static and dynamic models.
2. Futures markets for agricultural products.
3. The hedging for the farmer, the processing company, the dealer.
4. Livestock futures contracts and the elevators strategies.
5. Exercises on future markets.

De Pin A. (2011), Prodotti agricoli mercati globali, pag. 1-18; 169-233, IMPRIMITUR, Padova.(Available at the Cafoscarina Library)
Optional:
Serra S., Zuppiroli M. (2009), Il commercio dei cereali, cap. 4, 5, 6, Milano.
Carter C.A. (2007), Futures and Options Markets. An Introduction, cap. 1, 2, 3, 7, Waveland Press Inc., Long Grove, Illinois.

The exam consists of ten questions, both theoretical and exercises.
Each question has a maximum score of three points.
Bonus points can be added to the test score, as agreed in class.
The first exam after the course is only for attending students.

The course is held with lectures.
Case studies can be developed with group work.
The study can be carried out through the moodle platform and the Teacher's Book.

Italian

The moodle course is at: https://moodle.unive.it/course/view.php?id=165
Registration on the platform is made in the first three days of the course.
For not attending students the enrollment is done through the teacher.

If you have a disability (Law 17/1999) or a specific learning disorder (Law 170/2010) contact the Disability and DSA office: disabilita@unive.it.

written

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Natural capital and environmental quality" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development