By BUUMBA CHIMBULU
THE commodities market meant to guarantee market access for farmers and boost their income will start with the trading of soft agricultural supplies.
Last year, the Lusaka Securities Exchange (LuSE) launched a commodities trading platform for agricultural products in efforts to guarantee market access for farmers and boost their income.
With financial support from Musika, the trading platform is a partnership between LuSE and the Zambia Commodities Exchange (ZAMACE) which halted trading in 2019 due to financial constraints.
In giving an update on the platform, LuSE Chief Executive Officer, Priscilla Sampa, said it would begin with the trading of soft agricultural supplies.
“As the market continues to develop, the LuSE intends to increase and diversify the range of commodities traded on the exchange.
“The commodity trading platform’s introduces Warehouse Receipts, as an important and effective tool for creating liquidity and easing access to credit for farmers,” Ms Sampa said in an interview.
Meanwhile, Ms Sampa said LuSE was working towards introducing several financial products suiting the consumer and economic demand.
Ms Sampa said some of the products included capital rising through issuance of Green Bonds, derivatives and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
“LuSE has identified the need to focus on developing marketing strategies of financial instruments to the rural population, where a signification portion of the population is suffering from poverty, inequality, unemployment, illiteracy and superstition,” he said.
Ms Sampa said the local burse would soon also launch the market simulators that would equip the masses with investment knowledge.
LuSE, she said, had developed investor awareness programmes in suburban and remote areas by which maximum retail participation in capital market will be ensured.
She also said one of the major focus areas for LuSE this year was to achieve the larger economic agenda of financial inclusion in Zambia.
“LuSE has strategies that are focusing on those who currently do not enjoy formal financial institutional support and to encourage the local citizenry to diversify and make use of the wide array of financial products found on the Zambian market,” Ms Sampa said.
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