Online Reporter
Agriculture Reporter
Zimbabwe’s agricultural commodity market continued to trade at a significant premium to regional and international benchmarks last week, with maize, wheat and soya beans leading gains.
Prices for maize and soya beans firmed, with maize rising by 4,09 percent from about US$350 to US$365 per tonne.
Sunflower also gained 5.8 percent to US$450 per tonne, while soya beans remained firm at US$550.70 per tonne.
The Zimbabwe Mercantile Exchange (ZMX) weekly update said maize remained the key price signal on the market.
“The ZMX price of US$365 per tonne is above all the regional and international benchmarks shown, including US$228,68 per tonne on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), US$277.20 per tonne on the GCX, US$305 per tonne on the NCX and US$193.30 per tonne on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).
“However, the US$404 per tonne import parity indicates that the domestic price remains below the landed import-equivalent price by approximately US$39 per tonne.
“This suggests that, despite the substantial premium over international markets, domestic maize prices are still supported by the economics of importing grain into Zimbabwe,” said the ZMX.
For soya beans, the update noted that the ZMX price of US$550.70 per tonne was above the JSE (US$499.72 per tonne, GCX (US$461.62 per tonne and ACE (US$400 per tonne, but below the NCX (US$695 per tonne.
“The US$630 per tonne import parity provides additional headroom for domestic prices if import replacement becomes necessary. Sunflowers show an even wider divergence.
At US$450 per tonne, the ZMX price is above the ACE benchmark of US$350 per tonne but below the JSE’s US$654,4 per tonne.
Import parity, however, is substantially higher at US$784/t, indicating a considerable gap between domestic pricing and the estimated cost of importing sunflower,” said the ZMX.
Wheat was trading at US$470 per tonne on ZMX, compared with US$377,01 per tonne on the JSE and US$528, 36 per tonne on the NCX.
The update added that the US$507 per tonne import parity places the domestic price relatively close to the import-equivalent level, “suggesting limited room for downward adjustment without increasing the competitiveness of imports.”
According to ZMX, the data demonstrates that Zimbabwe’s commodity prices are shaped not only by international market movements but also by domestic cost structures, import economics and local supply conditions.
“The persistent premium over international exchanges should therefore not be interpreted solely as a shortage premium; it also reflects the higher cost of moving, financing, storing and supplying commodities into the Zimbabwean market,” read the update.
The local market is also showing a clear imbalance in maize availability, with only 480 tonnes of white maize offered by farmers against buyer demand of 3 000 tonnes.
The available white maize is priced at US$365 per tonne in Harare, while buyers are indicating a range of US$325–350/ per tonne across Harare, Mutare and Bulawayo.
“This gap between available supply and demand is consistent with the tightening commercial maize position and provides sellers with greater negotiating power. Yellow maize currently has no reported supply or firm demand volumes, although indicative farmer prices remain above buyer indications,” read the update.
Wheat presented the strongest volume opportunity on the demand side, with 5 000 tonnes of farmer supply indicated at US$490 per tonne against buyer indications of US$440–470 per tonne.
“This represents a relatively wide price gap, suggesting that buyers are currently unwilling to match the prevailing farmer asking price.
‘‘The same pattern is evident in several other commodities, including popcorn, where 150 tonnes are available at approximately US$780–800 per tonne, compared with buyer indications of US$650 per tonne.
“For commodities such as soya beans, sunflower, sorghum, groundnuts and pulses, reported volumes remain limited or zero, indicating that current market activity is concentrated in a relatively small number of commodities.
Meanwhile, ZMX will hold a live auction tomorrow, Wednesday, at the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show.
