By Ashemiriogwa Emmanuel
The price of maize per contract in the open market declined by 10.43 per cent week-on-week to N20,170 at the close of last week compared with the N22,518 it recorded in the preceding week.
Data from the AFEX Weekly Commodities Price Report also revealed that the value of the product at the exchange dropped in the week by 3.3 per cent to N23,200 per contract from N24,000 per contract.
It was gathered that the price of maize at the open market depreciated as a result of a supply glut, meaning more of the commodity was in the market than what the buyers could take.
Maize is in the harvest season at the moment and this is why the market has more than it can consume as farmers are flooding the space with the commodity.
Business Post reports that also in the week, the price of soybean increased by 0.74 per cent in the open market to N35,783 from the previous week’s N35.519, while the exchange-traded price appreciated by 11.0 per cent as it closed at N37,183/contract versus N33,500/contract of the earlier week.
However, the paddy rice recorded a decline of 4.33 per cent in the week as its price ended at N16,812 at the open market compared with the preceding week’s N17,573, while at the exchange, it closed flat at N22,000.
As for sorghum, the value went down by 2.80 per cent at the open market to N22,675 from N23,327 and closed flat at the exchange at N20,340, while the price of cocoa appreciated by 0.87 per cent at the open market to N99,022 from N98,167 and also gained 1.38 per cent at the exchange to N97,637 from N96.309
Last week, ginger was sold at the open market at N96,233 per contract in contrast to N92,387 of the earlier week, indicating an appreciation of 4.16 per cent, while the exchange-traded price stood at N27,362, the same price of the preceding week.
Sesame closed flat at the open market and exchange last week at N54,971 and N48,117 respectively, just as cashew remained flat at both markets N47,417 and N44,500 apiece.
It was learned that in the five-day trading week, the total contracts executed on the exchange were 146,289 with maize accounting for 99 per cent of the trades.
A look at the performance of the market in the week showed that the AFEX Commodities Index (ACI) declined by 3.82 per cent, while its Export Index (AEI) dropped 1.42 per cent.
However, the case was different for the Standard & Poor’s Goldman Sachs Commodity Index (S&P GSCI) Agriculture as it improved by 2.31 per cent within the period under review.
Consistently, the ACI outperformed the S&P GSCI Agriculture Index on a season-to-date basis but the AEI underperformed when compared to both indexes.
AFEX noted that its ongoing crop production survey showed that farmers are careful in speculating their yield from the current planting season as some are experiencing heavy rainfall which is not favourable to the growth of their crops.
Consequently, it would be noted that the price of grains in the open market has declined earlier than expected, that is, in three consecutive weeks, unlike in previous years where the prices of grains in the open market reached their peak around the month of August.
