The number of farm commodities that is actively traded on exchanges is rapidly shrinking. On National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, which lists primarily farm commodities, there has been no activity in sugar derivatives for over a year now, volumes in cereals wheat, maize and barley are negligible, while trade in crude palm oil and degummed soyoil failed to take off. The exchange’s turnover, which peaked at 18.10 trln rupees in 2011-12 (Apr-Mar), has since shrunk to barely a third at 5.89 trln rupees in 2017-18.