The President of The Commodity Brokers Association of Ghana(CBAG), Mr Yaw Ohemeng Kyei, has proposed that all trading activities in soyabeans must pass through the Ghana Commodity Exchange(GCX) to prevent or minimise challenges in the soyabeans supply chain process in the country .
According to him “currently 100kg bag of soya currently sells at a record high of GHC600 at farm gate in Tumu as at the end of November 2022 as compared to a price of 180 at the end of March 2020. Within the space of 2 harvest seasons, prices have astronomically risen by 300% and there is no sign of an end to record astronomical price hikes.
Mr Y.O. Kyei indicatec that the situation is so bleak that soyabeans Processors in the country pay between GH700 to GH800 for 100kg bag of soyabeans. Some Factories are unable to even get access to the commodity due to activities of hoardings and influx of some foreign nationals who are engaging in all manner of activities.
“Once trading is done solely through Ghana Commodity Exchange, all these challenges will be eliminated in lieu of fair play”
“We understand foreigners and some Ghanaians still smuggle that commodity through unapproved routes with alleged connivance of some Customs Officers in blatant and cynical disregard for the ban. At this age and day if Customs cannot use technology to enforce the ban, then Customs Division of Ghana Revenue Authority must be privatised ”
He made the call at a sensitization trip to the various farms in the northern sector of the country to assess at first hand the soyabeans situation in the country. He was accompanied by the National Vice President, Mr Jeffery Ntorinkansah
He emphasised that trading in soyabeans through the Ghana Commodity Exchange would forestall extreme price hikes since prices are determined scientifically at the Ghana Commodity Exchange (GCX).
He thus, appealed to government to implement policy directives leading to all Soyabean trading activities to pass through the exchange to ensure structured price standardisation for the market, coupled with structured price discovery and trade fairness.
As part of the solution to the problem, Mr Y.O. Kyei educated farmers to expand their farms and increase productivity by taking advantage of warehouse receipt system introduced by the GHANA COMMODITYEXCHANGE which requires no physical asset as collateral for loan.
He further disclosed that CBAG is in discussions with some organizations to pilot agric insurance for soyabeans farmers where premium would be paid in kind.
He further urged entrepreneurs, Professional groups, Ghana Prison Service, Ghana Army and religious organisations to venture into commercial soyabeans farming by taking advantage of warehouse receipt financing and warehouses offered by GCX in addition to guarantee Soyabean off-takes and ready market offered by CBAG
He stressed that CBAG is currently developing a forecasting reference database that will assist markets in planing their Soyabean purchase ahead of time. “We hope to pilot that scheme by the first quarter of next year”
He disclosed that CBAG has signed MoU with an organization to design mobile equipment that can sort and clean soyabeans for use by soyabeans farmers on hire purchase or lease basis. That project is expected to commence before the end next year.
He appealed to end users of soyabeans especially Poultry farmers to change the traditional ways of doing business and shift to hedging, forward and futures to minimise impact of price hikes.
CBAG is a value-chain network based association that represents all stakeholders in the agribusiness industry including farmers, farmer groups, licensed exchange practitioners, aggregators, logistics service providers, importers, exporters, retailers, support service providers, input suppliers, researchers, agricultural cooperatives, academic institutions, and all other persons or organisations with agribusiness interest.