What is EWR?

Electronic Warehouse Receipts with an acronym of “EWR” are electronic receipts issued to represent agricultural products deposited in the Licensed Warehouses. 

Electronic Warehouse Receipts (EWR) represents the electronic register created by the licensed warehouse, established and managed by the Electronic Registry Corporation pursuant to the Electronic Registry Rules (ERR). EWR issued in the Electronic Registry System (ERS) of the ERR, unless the contrary specified in the legislation and it represents the same quantity, type, class and quality. The agricultural products represented by EWR are secured by the Licensed Warehouse system which is regulated and supervised by the Ministry of Trade. 

Turkish Mercantile Exchange was established to ensure the functioning and development of Electronic Warehouse Receipts markets in a secure, transparent, efficient, stable, fair and competitive environment within the framework of Law No: 5174, The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (UCCET) and chambers and commodity exchange law article No. 53 

Following the establishment of our exchange, as a result of the efforts carried out to put it into operation, on July 26, 2019, the first bell was rung in the Electronic Warehouse Receipt Market with the permission granted by the Ministry of Trade. Thus, Electronic Warehouse Receipts representing agricultural products that can be stored in warehouses started to be traded only in TMEX under a national exchange. 

Real persons and legal entities, who deliver its products to licensed warehouses and possess licensed warehouse receipts (EWRs) or those who have an intention of engaging in the trade of EWRs in the EWR Market, can participate in the EWR Market as “investors” 

Orders are transmitted by the investors to the “TMEX Trading Platform” which is accessed from the TMEX main page in its website by entering username and password. Trades executed in the TMEX Trading Platform are settled on the same day (T+0).  Settlement service is given by Istanbul Clearing Settlement and Custody Bank Inc. (Takasbank) in association with Central Registry Agency (CRA). Details of the rules and regulations of the Market are cited in TMEX EWR Market Regulations and EWR Market Procedure. 

Authorized Classifier 

Real and legal entities operate laboratories and execute analysis by a license with the scope of Law 5300. Authorized classifiers analyze the agricultural products, determine the qualification and characteristics, categorize according to standards and manage laboratories that certify/document the quality of the product. Authorized classifiers are regulated and supervised by the Ministry of Trade. 

Licensed Warehouses 

Licensed warehouses are joint-stock companies with valid licenses, engage in the storage of the agricultural products under the scope of the Agricultural Commodities Licensed Warehousing Law No. 5300. Licensed Warehouses are regulated and supervised by the Ministry of Trade. 

Electronic Registry Institution (ERI) 

Central Registry Agency of Turkey is authorized as an ERI by the Ministry of Trade with a license in order to provide the creation of Electronic Warehouse Receipts through its electronic registry system (ERS), monitor all rights, obligations and transactions related to these receipts by the related parties in a dematerialized manner. 

Electronic Registration Rules 

The procedures and principles regarding the creation and monitoring the records regarding the transactions of EWR and rights associated with the EWR are determined by the Ministry of Trade upon the proposal of the ERI. 

Issue of EWR 

For EWR issuance, firstly, licensed warehouses receives the transaction code (ISIN) determined according to the product classification criteria by Takasbank, which serves as Turkey’s central numbering agency. After the analysis conducted by the authorized classifier, the product is received for storage by the Licensed Warehouse. In the meantime, the Licensed Warehouse creates the EWR on the related transaction code (ISIN) in the Central Registry System of Central Registry Agency which represents the stored products in the account of investor’s financial intermediary as clearing and settlement member. This issuing process has been accomplished at the CRA by the Licensed Warehouse. 

For detailed information please see Brief Information on Electronic Warehouse Receipt Services of Takasbank, Central Securities Depository of the Türkiye (CSD) and EWR Transactions User Guide