The contracts have been planned for some time but there was a debate as to whether they should be based on malt barley, which is a high grade used for making beer, whisky and malted drinks, or lower grades which are used for feeding animals. The lower grades make up the bulk of production.

When the contracts were originally suggested, French farming cooperatives said they wanted more leeway for lower grades of barley, but maltsters argued for higher grades. A Liffe spokesperson said at the time that it was waiting for market participants to determine the contract specifications.

Ian Dudden, director of commodity derivatives at NYSE Liffe in London, said in April: “The primary interest has been with respect to malting barley.” Asked whether Liffe would consider introducing a lower grade contract in the future, he said the exchange “always has an open mind as to what may be appropriate”.

Liffe offered a physically settled, sterling-denominated barley future between 1996 and 2003. It was delisted because barley and wheat became highly correlated and hedgers moved to the more liquid wheat futures market. “We’re not concerned this is going to happen again,” said Dudden.

He said he expected interest to come mainly from continental Europe, especially France and Scandinavia. The contracts are denominated in euros for this reason.

They have not been designed with the intention of putting them into commodity indices, though the exchange has not ruled this out.

The underlying barley must have a minimum germination of 95%, a maximum moisture content of 14.5% and a maximum protein content of 11.5%. The minimum price movement will be 25 euro cents a tonne and the contracts will be available for trading between 10.45 and 18.30 Paris time.