The electronic trading platform, Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) officially launches the trading of spices for the first time in its close to a decade and half years of operation. The trading floor has also disclosed that it will open a special trading window for traders who use sesame seeds as industrial input.
Moreover, additional species, pulses and oil seeds will be included in the trading platform besides aromatic gum and resins.
The newly added commodities at the electronic trading platform is connecting buyers to sellers through its expansion of products that it manages as the non-mandated and mandated trading products now reach 17.
The latest move of ECX is a big journey in its 14 years of operation due since all along it had not debuted spices on its floor.
Under the new non mandated or alternative trading scheme, ECX has commenced the trading of vech/grass pea, and four species; coriander, fenugreek, black pepper, and black cumin. Ethiopia is one of the major producers of species like fenugreek and black cumin in the continent and has a potential to earn significant hard currency from export.
During the ECX’s spices and vetch trade launching program that was held on Thursday February 24, a quintal of black cumin was traded for 26, 500 birr while a quintal of greenish fenugreek traded for 12,500 birr.
The commodities that were introduced at the trading floor have been noted to have high demand in the global market. Besides the newly introduced five commodities, ECX is trading haricot beans, niger seeds, maize and wheat as non mandated products.
The exchange has also disclosed that as of next week the trading floor will commence the trading of sesame seeds under special window for local industrialist.
It is to be recalled that the modern trading platform introduced a special window for soybean buyers, who use the commodity as input for their value addition industrial product.
“As per the experience we tapped from the soybean, we have finalized to facilitate special trading of sesame seeds,” a statement from ECX says, adding “due to that as of next week industrialists who are using sesame seeds as input shall trade through the special window.”
ECX disclosed that it has concluded the first stage study to introduce the trading of more commodities at the floor.
The agriculture commodities that are under the study are: amomum/Ethiopian cardamom, lupinus termis forssk, aromatic gum and resins, rice, turmeric and groundnut.