StoneX gets New Zealand approval to offer dairy farmers hedging tools

The US clearing broker on Tuesday received approval from New Zealand's Financial Markets Authority (FMA) to offer milk price risk management solutions to retail dairy industry participants, expanding its agricultural hedging capabilities in the country.

“New Zealand's dairy industry plays a vital role in global agricultural markets, yet many producers remain highly exposed to milk price volatility,” said Liam Fenton, global head of dairy and food group at StoneX, in a release. “This licence allows StoneX to bring proven risk management expertise directly to dairy farmers and provide solutions that help them manage uncertainty with greater confidence.

Fenton added: “Our objective is to make sophisticated risk management more accessible, practical, and relevant for producers, allowing them to focus on running and growing their businesses while better managing fluctuations in milk prices.”

The approval allows StoneX Financial Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of StoneX Group, to provide dairy farmers with tools designed to manage their exposure to milk price volatility and improve income certainty.

A key focus of the initiative will be expanding access to risk management tools for sharemilkers, which StoneX said have historically had limited access to hedging solutions despite often being among the most financially exposed participants in the dairy supply chain.

StoneX targets wider access to dairy hedging

StoneX said the licence represents a significant expansion of its agricultural hedging capabilities as volatility continues to affect participants in global commodity markets.

“Market volatility is an ongoing reality for dairy producers, particularly sharemilkers, who are a critical part of New Zealand’s dairy industry but are often among the most exposed to fluctuations in milk prices,” said Matt Manning, vice president of commodity derivatives at StoneX, in a release.

He added: “By providing farmers with access to a broader range of practical risk management tools, we are helping to strengthen business resilience, support more effective financial planning, and enable greater confidence in investments across the sector. These capabilities are important for the long-term sustainability and growth of New Zealand’s dairy industry.”

StoneX expands dairy derivatives offering

StoneX has been expanding its dairy derivatives offering this year. In April, the US clearing broker launched an over-the-counter (OTC) dairy derivatives suite in partnership with agri-food information company Expana.

The first contract was based on fat filled milk powder and referenced IOSCO-assured EU dairy benchmark prices, with StoneX saying at the time that additional dairy products were in development.

The launch followed an earlier partnership between StoneX and Expana aimed at expanding the range of tools available to clients to manage dairy price volatility.

New Zealand's dairy derivatives market has also recorded increased trading activity. An FMA report published in November found that SGX-NZX dairy derivatives traded on Singapore Exchange Derivatives Trading Limited (SGX-DT) recorded average daily volume of 2,929 contracts between July 2024 and June 2025, up 14% from a year earlier.

Open interest increased 22% year-on-year to 190,396 contracts over the same period. The contracts were migrated from New Zealand Exchange (NZX) to SGX-DT in 2021, with SGX offering dairy futures and options to participants ranging from New Zealand farmers to international buyers of dairy commodities.

StoneX launches digital dairy risk management platform

StoneX has developed a dedicated digital platform to support the New Zealand initiative, which will be available on mobile and desktop.

The platform is designed to provide farmers with information on product features, pricing and risk management tools to help them make decisions based on their individual business needs.

“StoneX's user-friendly platform also brings a more accessible and innovative model for dairy risk management to the New Zealand dairy market,” Manning said.

This comes as StoneX reported record second-quarter results in May, with net operating revenue rising 70% year-on-year to $829.1m (£622m) and net income increasing 143% to $174.3m. Listed derivatives net operating revenue rose 140% to $144.9m during the quarter, while OTC derivatives net operating revenue increased 98% to $119m.