Online Reporter
Business Writer
The Zimbabwe Mercantile Exchange (ZMX) has signed agreements to collaborate with three other agricultural commodity exchanges in the region.
This follows ZMX’s recent signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for regional agricultural commodity exchange collaboration with Malawi’s Agricultural Commodity Exchange for Africa (ACE), Zambia’s Agricultural Commodity Exchange (Zamace) and the Tanzania Mercantile Exchange (TMX).
All four exchanges are members of the African Continental Free Trade Area-Association of Commodity Exchanges (A-ACX).
ZMX chief executive officer (CEO) Mr Collen Tapfumaneyi, stated that the collaboration between regional agricultural commodity exchanges would unlock new markets for farmers.
“Our countries are always trading with each other, but it tends to be done in an unstructured manner. Currently, a local farmer has to board a bus to go to Tanzania, for example, if they want to sell their products,” he explained.
“As commodity exchanges, we are positioning ourselves as market windows. If you want to explore what is available in Zimbabwe, you can look through ZMX; if you want to see what is available in Malawi, you can look through ACE, and so on.
“If these four windows are interconnected, it means that when we have surplus wheat in Zimbabwe, we can broadcast it to three other countries. Similarly, when there is a surplus of soya beans in Malawi, everyone can see that and we can start trading.
“It tells our farmers what is in demand — not just in Zimbabwe, but across the entire region, helping them plan their production accordingly.”
An agricultural commodity exchange is a centralised platform where buyers and sellers of agricultural products meet to trade.
Common agricultural commodities traded on such exchanges include grains (wheat, corn and soya beans), livestock and other products like sugar, coffee and cotton, to name just a few.
The scope of collaboration between ZMX, ACE, Zamace, and TMX includes trading and settlement integration; warehouse receipt system integration; risk management and liability frameworks; and the establishment of a commercial framework.
