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Edgar Vhera Agriculture Specialist Writer
FRESH from the boom in maize trading, the Zimbabwe Mercantile Exchange (ZMX) will tomorrow start trading wheat, barley, sunflower, sugar beans, sorghum and soya beans deposited in their warehouse in addition to maize.
In a recent twitter post ZMX said: “Get ready for the auction season by ensuring your commodities are accepted into ZMX registered warehouses. Starting this week, we are now accepting soya bean, sugar bean, sunflower, white and red sorghum and millet.”
ZMX General manager Mr Garikayi Munema yesterday said commodity prices continued to surge on the auction market and farmers must take advantage of the added commodities.
“ZMX has added more commodities on the weekly auction and farmers must ensure that their commodities are put in ZMX accredited warehouses and get a warehouse receipt ahead of tomorrow’s trade,” he said.
The Government recently liberalised the trading of soya bean, wheat and barley, which were previously controlled.
Statutory Instrument (SI) 129 of 2023 amended the rules around the sale and purchase of soya beans in Zimbabwe. It changed who farmers can sell to, and who buyers can buy from, allows some farmers to sell to the ZMX, restricts soya bean exports and now requires farmers to have a permit when transporting soya beans.
SI 130 liberalised wheat and barley trading while sugar beans, sunflower and sorghum were not controlled.
Statistics from ZMX show that 327 tonnes of maize valued at US$101 370 were traded at an average price of US$310 per tonne against the previous week’s US$290.
The volume and average price had been on an upward trend since day one of trade.
Last week buyers submitted maize bids for 1 037 tonnes at an average price of US$298, 14 per tonne while farmers were willing to sell 379, 98 tonnes at an average price of US$311, 32 per tonne.
The bid and offer prices are narrowing towards convergence, with average bid prices increasing from US$230 per tonne on day 2 to US$298 by Day 6, while the average offer price decreased from US$330 per tonne to US$311 over the same period.
The bid and offer spread has now narrowed to US$13 from a high of US$100 on Day 2, which was prompted by speculation with the market now discovering real price.
Recently, the Government liberalised the soya bean, wheat and barley trading under SI 129 and 130. This liberalisation allowed self-financed farmers and private contractors to sell these crops through ZMX.
The ZMX said those interested in participating on the auction were required to register with them and the Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA). Once registered, farmers and contractors can deposit their commodities into ZMX certified warehouses and receive warehouse receipts that will be used for trading.
Online Reporter