Ghana Commodity Exchange Integrates 20 Farmer-Based Organizations

 Ghana Commodity Exchange (GCX) has integrated 20 Ghanaian farmer-based organizations to trade on its electronic platform.

In line with its vision to “transform Ghana’s economy by creating prosperity for all in commodity value chains, and become a regional and global trading hub for all commodities”, the GCX will provide support to these farmer groups with its offer of membership.

The farmer groups are mainly in 100 districts in the Northern, North East, Upper East, Upper West, Savannah, Bono, Brong Ahafo, Ahafo, Ashanti and Greater Accra Regions and represent over 60,000 small scale farmers in maize, soya bean and other crop farmers.

The farmer groups will be registered members of the Exchange and will be eligible to trade commodities.

They will also receive a range of services which include grain testing, grading, weighing, storage, re-bagging, fumigation and short-term loans (using their grains as sole collateral), and other financial services. 

The GCX is a commodity trading platform that uses the most modern, interactive and appropriate technology to connect markets and people. With an agenda to link Ghanaian small-scale farmers to commodity and financial markets in Ghana, GCX started trading late last year in White and Yellow maize contracts and recently added soya bean contracts to its list of traded commodities.

Today the Ghana Commodity exchange has over 120 members, which includes 40 farmer groups representing over 120,000 farmers of mostly small-holder farmers.

The Exchange has so far signed and integrated 25 commodity brokers to represent farmers and other market actors who are constrained from trading on the GCX platform by themselves.

The platform will allow farmers to discover true prices and volumes presented to the Exchange for trade. The Government of Ghana has supported the GCX financially in the acquisition of a world class trading platform, warehouses with laboratory facilities to test, grade and store commodities, and facilities to settle and deliver commodities within 24 hours of trade.