> In the case of commodity futures, it allows commodities to be traded on an exchange where bags of onion seeds would otherwise be difficult to trade. That is

> In the case of commodity futures, it allows commodities to be traded on an exchange where bags of onion seeds would otherwise be difficult to trade. That is not essential to what futures do. The essence of a future, is that it is a trade that is agreed upon today, but which settles in the future. I sell my corn to you at a price we agree on today for delivery in 3 months. That allows producers and consumers of commodities to reduce risk, while speculators can increase their risk. Also -- weird but interesting -- the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onion_Futures_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onion_Futures_Act bans trading futures contracts on onions (and motion picture box office receipts). Not sure if that would apply to onion seed.