White sugar futures are expected to be put on the Chinese market in the first half of next year, the Shanghai Securities News reported on its website Friday.

Tang Qingrong, deputy general manager of the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange in central China's Henan province, said the Exchange is almost finished preparing the essential trading contract and regulations, and is now soliciting suggestions and comments.

On June 1 this year, cotton futures was formally listed on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange, becoming the first new futures commodity allowed for trading since China started to rectify the futures business ten years ago.

Fuel oil futures, the first kind of energy futures in China, will debut in eastern China's Shanghai Futures Exchange next month and trading of corn futures will be resumed soon at the Dalian Commodity Exchange in northeastern China.

According to relevant statistics, China's futures transactions totaled a record high of 10.8 billion yuan (1.3 billion US dollars) in 2003, up 174 percent over the previous year. The first half of 2004 saw futures transactions amount to 8.7 billion yuan (1.05 billion dollars), up 97.59 percent year-on-year.
 
(Xinhua News Agency July 31, 2004)