Although India has a long history of trade in commodity derivatives, this sector remained underdeveloped due to government intervention in many commodity markets to control prices. The production, supply and distribution of many agricultural commodities are still governed by the state. Free trade in many agricultural commodities items is restricted under the Essential Commodities Act (ECA), 1955 and Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees (APMC) Acts of various State Governments. The forward and futures contracts were, till April 2003, limited to only a few commodity items under the Forward Contracts (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 1952. However, in 2003, GOI removed all restrictions on commodities, which could be traded on commodity exchanges.