The prospect that water may eventually join crude oil, pork bellies, orange futures and other commodities traded on global markets was raised in Tokyo today by Craig Donohue, the chief executive of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Mr Donohue, who runs the world's largest commodities trading exchange, declined to confirm directly that water would become a tradeable commodity, but told The Times: "We are working on a lot of products."

He said that the concept of a global futures market in water “would not surprise me”, as the world and its commodities were going through a phase of fundamental change, as derivatives exchanges adapted to explosive growth and demands of China and India.

Amid record crude oil prices, historic drawdowns on grain inventories and other trading phenomena, Mr Donohue said: “This is not just a cyclical change. This is an entirely new market.”

Seismic shifts in the demand patterns of commodities around the world were, he said, creating “dramatic” transformation of the trading scene. The increasing use of corn as a fuel for cars, he said, was creating a “tremendous convergence” between energy and food markets.

Amid these changes, soaring industrial and agricultural demand for water, say some analysts, could become a more critical geopolitical issue than climate change. Water trading, say some, may provide a market-based way of forcing higher levels of water efficiency on the worst offenders.

Some believe that a water futures market could be set up to mirror carbon emissions markets, incentivising efficient use of the precious resource.

Large corporations like Coca-Cola are already vowing to achieve “water neutrality” in their operations by replacing the water they use to make their products. Australia, which suffers from extreme drought in large portions of the country, has already created a vibrant market for buying and selling water entitlements.

Times Recommends

• Darling under pressure on record public debt
• Mortgage lending falls 32% as drought deepens
• Oil prices firm after 10% drop to below $130