Capacity Support to the Agricultural Commodity Exchange for Africa Trust Quarterly Progress report

ACE has operated a live exchange trading platform since 2006 and has facilitated trade of 81,812.83 metric tons of commodities worth USD 25,937,940.14 across the exchange. ACE has been struggling with limited funding and lack of support from the market, but with the help of COMPETE bridging funding, the organization has been able to set up necessary processes and baselines to generate agricultural commodity market access, encourage transparency, and facilitate commodity price discovery. This funding has also enabled ACE to stay operative and has generated trade commissions of more than USD 8,000 in 11 months. The organization has made significant progress in implementing its warehouse receipt system, which allows farmers to store their commodities in warehouses and receive receipts that can be used as collateral for loans. The system has been fully integrated with the exchange platforms, and the software automatically calculates finance charges and storage charges according to profiles chosen by the depositor. ACE has also been working with farmers' unions and cooperatives to sensitize them about the warehouse receipt system and to strengthen their ability to participate in the system. In terms of trade, ACE has facilitated the sale of commodities worth USD 25,937,940.14 across the exchange, with a total of 81,812.83 metric tons of commodities traded. The organization has also made significant progress in regional procurement, with 12,039 metric tons of commodities contracted for deliveries in Maputo, Tete, Beira, Harare, and Bulawayo through the regional WFP BVO system. This has generated USD 2,429 exchange commission for ACE. ACE has also made progress in integrating its BVO system, trade platform, and warehouse receipt system, with all platforms now fully integrated using one main database. The organization has also designed its website to incorporate a trade scrolling screen, which allows traders to view and participate in trades in real-time. In terms of warehouse receipt system implementation, ACE has issued and financed 116 metric tons of receipts at 60% market value, with the first receipt now on sale from 4th October. The organization expects rural receipts to be issued next harvest season, and further software development is taking place with the help of a specialist. ACE has also expanded its reach to farmer organizations, with 12 farmer organizations participating in one or more trade sessions in the past quarter. The organization has also traded through ACE scrolling screen by accepting bids to buy from larger traders. ACE expects to continue to expand its reach to more farmer organizations in the coming months. Overall, ACE has made significant progress in improving the agricultural commodity market in Africa, and its efforts have been recognized by the international community. The organization continues to work towards its goal of creating a more transparent and efficient agricultural commodity market in Africa.