Ghana is blessed to have its first Commodity Exchange operating since 2018.
It is a platform that brings buyers and sellers together to facilitate local trade. The Ghana Commodity Exchange (GCX) is expected to create a seamless interface for the trading of food, minerals and other commodities in the country.
It is expected to bring transparency in agribusiness, boost confidence in the industry, raise standards of food quality to global standards and ultimately give farmers their due for all their hard work of tilling the ground.
The two prominent commodity exchanges in the world are the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group in the USA and the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). In Africa the GCX is the third after South Africa and Ethiopia.
According to the Information Minister, Mr. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has indicated that “there are plans that from twelve months to twenty-four months within which the GCX will trade in cashew, cocoa, timber, shear- butter and vegetables. The GCX after three years, will trade in metals, minerals, petroleum and gas”, he said.
How the platform will work
The Commodities Market works like any other market we know of. It is a physical or virtual space where one can buy and sell. Modern commodity markets began with trading of agricultural products like maize, livestock, food stuffs and other commodities. It may also trade in metals, petroleum and gas.
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The GCX which is licensed and regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would operate a fully electronic or digital trading platform which would be devoid of human interventions and manipulations. The trading activities would be preceded by registration of farmers, brokers and buyers as members of the trading activities. They would provide warehousing services where farmers of the various produce would deposit their physical products.
The major players of the exchange would be farmers (supplier or client), buyers, brokers, traders, warehouse managers and financiers. The exchange is expected to help in curbing the massive losses from post-harvest losses, boost export of food, improve food security in the country and open up investment and entrepreneurial opportunities.
Ghanatalksbusiness.com would continue to bring to readers updates on operations, business developments, any relevant information on the GCX and how people can take advantage of the entrepreneurial opportunities.
