USDA Rice Warehouse Receipts which serve as the future delivery instrument for Rice futures contracts will convert from paper to electronic form. Effective with the September 2007 and subsequent contracts, paper Rice receipts will not be deliverable. 

The Exchange is utilizing eGrain, Inc., a USDA-licensed electronic warehouse receipt provider. Effective August 30, 2007, warehouse receipts delivered in satisfaction of Rough Rice futures contracts must be Electronic Warehouse Receipts (EWRs) issued through eGrain.  Paper warehouse receipts issued by regular facilities will not be deliverable against September 2007 futures or subsequent contract months. Holders of Warehouse Receipts who plan on going through delivery must convert their paper warehouse receipts to EWRs.

To convert Rough Rice warehouse receipts to EWRs, holders should contact the appropriate clearing agent with sufficient notice for conversion and follow the procedures set out below:      

Step 1: Paper warehouse receipts need to be brought into the Registrar’s Office at 141 W. Jackson Blvd, Suite 340A, to be cancelled. 

Step 2: The cancelled paper receipts should then be submitted to the agent for the warehouseman who will send the cancelled receipts back to the warehouseman.

Step 3: An electronic warehouse receipt will be created on eGrain for approval by the Registrar’s Office.   

Step 4: Once registered, EWRs will then be sent to the warehouse’s clearing agent who will transfer to the original holder.

If the Registrar’s Office has not received the above-mentioned information from the Agent, it will treat a request for registration as a brand new registration. Any paper receipts not cancelled will be taken into account when determining the warehouseman’s total capacity to register EWRs. 

Please note – charges for storage and payment for delivery will continue to be handled outside the Delivery System.

If you have any questions regarding this process, please contact Sharon Weiss (312-341-3097), Joe Miller (312-341-3426) or Terry Gehring (312-435-3644) of the Market Regulation Department.