From Bloomberg
Zambian President Michael Sata directed a government minister to implement a law that will allow the country’s agricultural commodities market to resume trading after a three-year halt.
Agriculture Minister Wylbur Simuusa must “expeditiously operationalize” the Agricultural Credits Act to improve trade and finance for farmers, Sata said today in remarks handed to reporters at the opening of parliament in the capital, Lusaka.
“It’s very, very likely” that the act will be implemented by the end of the year, Simuusa said in an interview at the National Assembly afterward.
Zamace Ltd., a 15-member bourse, was set up in 2007 as a trading platform for crops such as wheat, soybeans and sunflowers as well as cement and fertilizer. Zambia is experiencing of glut of the staple corn and having the exchange operating would allow for investment in grain storage, according to Chief Executive Officer Jacob Mwale.
The exchange may restart trading in April if the act is implemented this year, he said by phone from Lusaka. Investors have expressed interest in putting more than $80 million in such storage infrastructure, he said.
Written by /Read more at Bloomberg
