THE Zimbabwe Mercantile Exchange (ZMX), says it would officially launch its Agricultural Commodities Auction next Wednesday, which will assist farmers in getting market-determined prices.
The commodities exchange markets provide an organised market for players across the agricultural commodities value chain, which include small to large-scale farmers, buyers, regulators, retailers, banks, and warehouse operators.
Such platforms are critical in closing arbitrage gaps caused by middlemen and thus help stimulate price discovery.
In a notice today, ZMX said the Agricultural Commodities Auction will be conducted online on a weekly basis every Wednesday between 8am and 4pm.
“The auction is in accordance with the ZMX Trading Rules gazetted in the Statutory Instrument 184 of 2021 and will start with maize and eventually include all other commodities listed on the exchange rate,” it said.
“With the auction, buy and sell orders are also posted continuously but matched at the end of the auction with one clearing price.
“The mechanics of the auction will be designed to cater for as to buy and sell orders as possible allowing buyers and sellers with similar need to meet in the market at once.”
ZMX has said the registration for participants is still open to interested participants who are required to register with both ZMX and Agriculture Marketing Authority (AMA) as required by the law.
“Once registered, farmers and contractors can deposit their commodities into ZMX-certified warehouses receipts that will be used for trading,” it said.
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