AGRICULTURAL FINANCIAL MARKETS

The course is part of the training activities chosen by the student [D] 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 for the farmers, processing and trading firms. Further goal is to provide concepts and tools to understand and evaluate the future contracts 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 on livestock and grain contracts and the management of price risk of the warehouse, highlighting the most suitable operational strategies for 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. Judgment skills.
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 economic models and market forms.

1. Economics of agricultural supply, static and dynamic models.
2. Futures markets for agricultural products.
3. The hedging for the farmer, the processing company, the dealer.
4. Livestock and grain contracts and warehouseman price risk management.
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:
Zuppiroli M. (2018), Mercati finanziari delle commodity agricole, pag. 1-185, Il Mulino, Bologna.
Carter C.A. (2007), Futures and Options Markets. An Introduction, cap. 1, 2, 3, 7, Waveland Press Inc., Long Grove, Illinois.

The assessment is based on a final written exam consisting of theoretical questions and practical exercises on agricultural futures contracts. This is to allow the student to fully argue the answers by applying the contents of the discipline and demonstrate the ability to carry out operational cases. Group work on the use of futures contracts in agricultural commodity markets may be carried out during the course. The assessment of learning outcomes aims to verify the degree of acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competences achieved in the management of agricultural commodity futures contracts on international markets.

written

The exam includes open questions on theoretical topics related to the discipline and exercises on agricultural commodities futures contracts. The grade is assigned based on the student's argumentative ability with respect to the content being tested. For the exercises, the judgment is formulated based on the correctness of the presentation in solving the proposed problems regarding agricultural futures contracts, as well as the accuracy of the results achieved. The final score reflects the expected learning outcomes and verifies the level of preparation and skills acquired.

The Course is conducted through classroom lessons.
Possibility of carrying out group work on specific Case Studies.
The study can be carried out with the help of Moodle platform and the Teacher's Book.

Italian

Registration on the Ca' Foscari moodle platform is recommended.

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.

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