Londile Moyo
Edgar Vhera Specialist Writer – Agribusiness
THE Zimbabwe Mercantile Exchange (ZMX) has rescheduled its weekly auction to May 6 due to high moisture content in grain currently being harvested.
The organisation confirmed the shift in the dates of the auction through its official X post.
This will allow the moisture level in harvested grain to reduce to the required trading standards.
“In the interim, stakeholders are encouraged to continue trading through the ZMX continuous auction platform, which remains open and available to facilitate market activity and transactions.
“ZMX continues to monitor crop conditions closely and will provide a confirmed date for the resumption of weekly auctions in due course,” said ZMX.
This move comes on the backdrop of the successful auction launch of the 2026 marketing season by ZMX in Harare earlier this month, running under the theme: “Building Transparent Markets for a Prosperous Agricultural Future.”
The ZMX maintains an electronic Warehouse Receipt System (WRS) and a commodities trade platform to facilitate safe, secure and convenient commodity trading and financing.
The purpose of ZMX is to provide farmers with access to markets and reduce the logistical load of acquiring agricultural commodities encountered by various manufacturers, processors and enterprises.
Under the system, farmers deliver commodities to a certified warehouse. Once the commodity is inspected, weighed and graded, the warehouse then certifies the commodity and issues an electronic warehouse receipt to the farmer, who can then use the receipt as collateral, a delivery mechanism for an outright sale of the commodities or as a delivery mechanism for a financial instrument.
The warehouse receipt is issued in the name of the farmer showing the tonnage, grade and farmer’s details.
The success of WRS is anchored on the storage of commodities at correct moisture levels and for maize, a moisture level of 12,5 percent is recommended.
Storage of maize above and below the benchmark affects its quality.
The warehouse receipt is issued electronically to the farmer on their mobile phone and the farmer will be eligible for warehouse receipt financing, subject to the terms of the specific financier.
Warehouse receipt financing is used in post-harvest funding to farmers, buyers and other warehouse receipt holders.
The warehouse receipt is processed and issued by registered warehouse operators through ZMX’s centralised system and acts as a certificate of title that is then used as collateral by credit providers.
The success of the ZMX trading is anchored on a quadruple arrangement of farmers, buyers, warehouses and financial institutions.
The ZMX trading platform is taking the centre stage in the domestic marketing of agricultural commodities.
The institution is expected to enhance the effectiveness of its commodity trading platform and its warehouse receipt system by expanding its accessibility across the country to ensure smallholder farmers can access secure storage for transparent pricing and commodity-based financing, without traditional collateral.
The Government’s role through the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) in agriculture markets will remain limited to the purchase and management of the Strategic Grain Reserve and providing storage facilities for ZMX.
GMB has a 25 percent shareholding of the ZMX.
The ZMX, as an alternative market, raises capital for farmers and will be available at both the village and national levels.
Meanwhile, the ZMX weekly bulletin dated 9 April, 2026, revealed that the maize average price was US$347, 86 per tonne, while those for soya and sunflower were US$544 and US$430, respectively.
Online Reporter