Online Reporter
Edgar Vhera
Specialist Writer – Agribusiness
THE Zimbabwe Mercantile Exchange (ZMX) is decentralising its live Wednesday weekly grain and oilseed auction trading activities closer to areas of production by participating in provincial agricultural shows, starting with Mashonaland Central today.
The ZMX weekly bulletin for the period July 20-24, disclosed that the exchange platform was bringing structured agricultural markets closer to farmers, traders and buyers across the country.
“The initiative begins at the Mashonaland Central provincial agricultural show in Bindura, where the live commodity auction will be held at the Bindura Showgrounds from 11 am to 12 pm,” said ZMX.
“The programme will move to the Mashonaland West provincial agricultural show in Chinhoyi, with a live commodity auction on Wednesday, August 5.”
ZMX aims to increase market access, promote price discovery, enhance farmer participation and showcase the benefits of transparent, structured commodity trading at key agricultural events across Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, the ZMX weekly auctions, which have been holding successful trades since inception on April 1 and recorded a peak turnover of US$1 289 000 recorded no trade in last week’s auction as a result of a price stalemate.
“A price deadlock persisted in the maize market, limiting trade execution.
“Buyers’ highest bid reached US$330 per tonne, while sellers maintained offers at US$350 per tonne, leaving the spread too wide for transactions to be concluded,” said ZMX.
The ZMX lamented delayed deliveries at buying points, which is constraining market activity, largely due to limited offloading capacity and insufficient storage space.
“Most buyers continue to offer payment terms ranging from two weeks to one month, reducing the attractiveness of offers to sellers seeking quicker settlement,” added ZMX.
In the last trade white maize price remained unchanged at US$348 per tonne.
The ZMX July 22 auction results revealed that there was a Harare outstanding white maize demand of 3 000 tonnes at US$320 per tonne, 500 tonnes at US$325 per tonne and 60 tonnes on US$330 per tonne.
There was also an unmatched demand of 1 000 tonnes of soya beans requested at an average price of US$520 per tonne and 350 tonnes at US$545 per tonne.
Farmers on the other hand were only willing to sell 1 570 tonnes of grade A white maize at US$350 per tonne and 1 000 tonnes of grade A white maize for US$355 per tonne.
There was no successful trade in maize and soya bean trade as a result of mismatch between seller expectations and buyer bids across key commodities.
ZMX believes maize trading activity was likely to remain concentrated around the lower end of the seller range, with reserve prices continuing to influence market liquidity.
Outstanding supply in Harare was recorded for 30 tonnes of grade A sugar beans at US$1 100 per tonne, 120 tonnes of grade A popcorn at US$790 per tonne, 150 tonnes of grade A maize bran at US$220 per tonne and 300 tonnes of grade A bread flour at US$740 per tonne.
The ZMX results also highlighted that there was a 5 000 tonnes forward demand of white maize equally spread over five months from August to December.
A forward supply of 6 000 tonnes of premium and standard wheat each and spread over three months from September to November is also in place.
The ZMX bulletin said the available wheat supply of 5 000 tonnes at US$490 per tonne was larger than buyer demand of 1 000 tonnes at between US$440 and US$470 per tonne.
“The US$20 per tonne pricing gap indicates that additional price discovery or negotiation will be required before significant volumes can transact.
“In contrast, the soya bean market is characterised by strong demand, with buyers seeking 4 000 tonnes despite lack of available supply,” read the bulletin.
This supply deficit is likely to sustain firm prices and intensify competition among processors and feed manufacturers seeking raw material.
Overall, the market reflects ample availability of staple grains, particularly maize and wheat, while shortages persist in oilseeds and selected legumes, supporting stronger prices in these deficit commodities.
