President launches Commodity Exchange in Accra

ACCRA, GHANA - The President of Ghana, H. E. John Dramani Mahama, on Tuesday 23rd June 2015 launched the Ghana Commodity Exchange (GCX) in Accra, with an assurance that the government had the political will to see to its successful implementation.

The Ghana Commodity Exchange is the first to take up space at the virtual office of World Trade Centre Accra as they prepare to move into their own office and trading floor in the WTC Accra office building.

"There is sufficient political will to see the commodity exchange through. I am confident that by the middle of next year, Ghana will have a full and well functioning commodity exchange," he said.

Financed with minority equity investment from government of Ghana and private sectors financing consortium, the GCX project will be implemented by the recognized industry leader in establishing and opening commodity exchanges in frontier markets.

The investment consortium partner include Ecobank Ghana ltd, UT Bank, the International Finance corporation (IFC),8 Mile Fund (London-based private equity Fund) and eleni LLC. The launch was the culmination of months of research, discussions, evaluation and other preparatory works.

Commodity Exchange

The GCX, which would operate on a warehouse receipt system modeled after a similar one in Ethiopia, is expected to begin operation in 2016.

The initiative will be a multi-commodity exchange that provides market integrity.
It is aimed at transforming Ghana’s agriculture through creating a transparent and professional market institution.

The GCX will start trading of primary agricultural commodities, including maize, soy beans, groundnuts paddy rice, palm oil among others, and is expected to introduce other key agricultural and non-agricultural commodities.

Eight marketing centre have been established in the country to begin the trading. 

The launch brought together stakeholders in the agricultural, trade and finance business sectors who were sensitised on the GCX design and its benefits.

President Mahama said the launch marked a significant stage in the development of the agricultural value chain. He expressed the hope that the system would create an orderly, transparent and efficient marketing system for Ghana’s key agricultural commodities to promote agricultural investment and enhance productivity.

This will encourage access and fair returns for, especially, smallholder farmers and agricultural trading activities, he said. Besides, he said the system would accelerate the pace of the country’s transformation agenda and move Ghana from an import economy to an export driven one. The President expressed satisfaction with private sector involvement in the development of the model for the exchange and said he looked forward to its development as a hub of commodity exchange in West Africa.

He said the time had come for a shift from subsistence agriculture to market –oriented agricultural production. 

The world, however require the emergence of a lower cost and lower risk marketing system that would allow many actors to participate in the process, he added.

President Mahama said Cabinet had approved a consolidated security industries bill to prepare the ground from the legal framework that would allow the Securities and Exchanges Commission to, among other things, regulate commodities exchanges and warehouse receipt systems in the country.

GCX is located in the WTC Accra building.

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