ZMX-SPIMEX pact to unlock trade, finance opportunities
CLOUDINE MATOLA
The Zimbabwe Mercantile Exchange (ZMX) expects its partnership with the St. Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange (SPIMEX) to unlock new opportunities for commodity financing and trade, Business Times can report.
Speaking at the signing ceremony this week, ZMX chief executive officer Collen Tapfumaneyi said the partnership with SPIMEX represented a major step towards expanding market opportunities, improving access to financing and deepening trade links.
“We really appreciate this recognition and the honour of being visited by the managing director of SPIMEX, and we believe this actually opens opportunities for lending and increased trade,” Tapfumaneyi said.
The MoU will facilitate cooperation in market development, technology transfer, knowledge sharing, capacity building and exchange collaboration, while creating a platform to promote two-way commodity trade between Zimbabwe and the Russian Federation.
“The MoU creates a platform for cooperation in several areas of mutual interest. These include commodity market development between the two exchanges, exchange collaboration, knowledge sharing, technology, capacity building and exploration of opportunities that strengthen regional and international commodity trade.
“This partnership also presents an opportunity to facilitate practical two-way commodity trade between Zimbabwe and the Russian Federation through our respective exchanges,” Tapfumaneyi said.
The partnership is also expected to strengthen Zimbabwe’s food security strategy by providing mechanisms for the efficient procurement of strategic commodities during periods of supply shortages.
Tapfumaneyi said climate-related production shocks, including the recent El Niño-induced drought, had highlighted the need for resilient and diversified supply chains capable of responding quickly to shortages.
“While Zimbabwe has made significant strides in increasing agricultural production under the Government’s agricultural transformation agenda, like many countries, we remain exposed to periodic climate-related production shocks.
“Within this context, the collaboration between ZMX and SPIMEX provides an important platform for facilitating the efficient procurement of strategic commodities such as maize, wheat and fertiliser whenever required, using transparent market-based mechanisms that complement the Government’s food security strategy,” he said.
He added that the partnership would also create opportunities for Zimbabwe to expand exports of products where the country has a competitive advantage.
Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA) chief executive officer Alice Mapfiza said SPIMEX’s experience and expertise as one of the world’s leading commodity exchanges would provide valuable insights as Zimbabwe continues to develop its commodity markets.
Mapfiza said the partnership would support efforts to strengthen agricultural marketing systems and broaden participation across commodity value chains.
“Such cooperation is critical as Zimbabwe continues to strengthen its agricultural marketing architecture and deepen market participation across various commodity value chains,” she said.
