AFEX Commodities Exchange Limited, a commodities exchange firm in Nigeria, has released its first Annual Commodity Review Report for 2019, noting that the marketing year was highly competitive.
The report stated an increasing number of players in the market along with sophistication of solutions being introduced by players in the market.
The report, which was made available to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Abuja, highlighted important trends and data that marked local and foreign agricultural commodities market trend on six commodities.
The report listed the commodities as soybeans, maize, paddy rice, cocoa, ginger and sorghum.
It noted that maize was the focus commodity of the report in Nigeria, with a total production of 10.42 million tonnes and consumption of 11.10 million tonnes, indicating a deficit.
“The AFEX annual commodity review shows that commodity prices in the domestic market were seen to follow earlier established trends with prices exhibiting the seasonal fluctuation that is characteristic of the commodities market in the country.
“Maize was the focus commodity of the report with a total production of 10.42 million tonnes and consumption of 11.10 million tonnes, indicating a deficit in the country.
“Currently, the maize value chain in the country spans from farmers with less than one hectare and with a productivity of about 2.5 tonnes per hectare, through marketers who facilitate the linkage of farmers (producers) to the final industrial and household consumers in the country,“ it stated.
According to the report, Kaduna, Niger and Taraba remain the largest producers of maize with an estimated production of 937,820 tonnes, 745,110 tonnes and 608,730 tonnes respectively.
“On consumption rate, the report stated that animal feed and baby food companies consumed the largest quantities, which was driven by growing demand for animal protein, an increasing population and an expanding dietary awareness,’’ it said.
AFEX’s Vice President, Financial Markets, Mr Akinyinka Akintunde, said that the report reflected AFEX’s continued commitment to educate the market and enable more informed investment decisions for players in the commodities market.
“An annual commodity review allows us to continue to foster a culture of transparency for the commodities market in Nigeria.
“We collect a lot of data in the course of our work at AFEX and we are continually exploring ways to expose all this data and information to the market to help them make the best decisions, “he said.(NAN)
