By Ashemiriogwa Emmanuel
The price of maize, soybean and paddy rice declined at the commodity market last week, data harvest by Business Post from the AFEX Weekly Commodities Price Report revealed.
The exchange traded price of maize last week went down by 4.6 per cent to N22,097 per contract from N23,200 per contract but at the open market, the value of the grain appreciated by 5.0 per cent to N21,185 per contract from N20,170 contract.
While harvest of 2021 maize has begun in major producing regions of Nigeria, commercial quantities of the grain are yet to be available as drying and processing are still in process.
Also, the value of soybean at the exchange dropped from N37,183 per contract to N34,664 per contract, indicating a 6.8 per cent week-on-week decline. The price of the commodity, however, witnessed a 5.96 per cent increase at the open market as it went from N35,783 to N37,756.
In the same vein, the exchange traded price of paddy rice fell in the week by 2.3 per cent to N21,500 per contract from N22,000 per contract, while at the open market, the staple grain experienced the highest appreciation of 30.13 per cent to N21,878 from N16,812.
As for sorghum and cocoa, the prices of both commodities remained flat at the exchange, while at the open market, sorghum went up by 6.5 per cent to close at N24,138 per contract from N22,675 per contract, with the price of cocoa falling marginally by 0.01 per cent to N99,013 from N99,022.
A survey showed that pest infestation was a very significant factor that affected 16 per cent of sorghum farmers planting this season, the main reason for the lower quality and quantity of upcoming harvest.
Meanwhile, the value of ginger, sesame, and cashew closed flat at the exchange, but at the open market, ginger decreased by 4.0 per cent to N92,387, while sesame dropped 6.6 per cent to close at N53,512, with cashew trading flat.
AFEX, in the report, said that a total of 2,617 contracts were consummated in the review period, 98 per cent lower than the 146,289 trades achieved the preceding week.
However, the AFEX Commodity Index (ACI) appreciated 0.58 per cent week-on-week, while the Afex Export Index (AEI) closed flat, with the Standard & Poor’s Goldman Sachs Commodity Index (S&P GSCI) Agriculture falling by 2.8 per cent and 0.57 per cent.
Comparing the performance of the markets, the ACI outperformed the S&P GSCI Agriculture Index on a season-to-date basis, but when compared to both indexes, the AEI underperformed.
