PXAfrica says that it has attracted 20 users who represent about 35 per cent of the Kenya grain market apart from users from Uganda and Tanzania.
PXAfrica Ltd, a company that provides an online platform for local grain trading, has gone live with wheat and maize trading.
PXAfrica, a subsidiary of US-based PanXchange, says that it has attracted 20 users who represent about 35 per cent of the Kenya grain market apart from users from Uganda and Tanzania.
“Recruiting smallholder farmers and expanding into cross-border trading were activities we had planned for next crop year but we’ve already witnessed uptake of both in our first two weeks live,” said PanXchange chief executive Julie Lerner in a statement.
The platform is designed to make it easier price discovery in the trading of grains and targets farmers, millers and warehousing companies.
PXAfrica plans to add more grains to the platform. “Current PXAfrica members are requesting that we offer millet, soybean meal and beans. We look forward to growing as quickly as possible,” said Ms Lerner.
The pilot programme was launched in 2014 and at the time the company said the bet was increased trading to give birth to a vibrant futures market which has been touted by policymakers as a remedy for the fluctuating grain prices.
There are other companies investing in similar online platforms expected to make it easier to trade grains within the regional markets.
In late July, the Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC) launched the G-Soko, an online platform that links small-scale farmers and buyers. EAGC’s platform similar to that of PXAfrica is meant to facilitate more efficient trade.
Surplus zones
“Right now, there is urgency to expand regional food trade due to the exponential growth of staple food imports. Linking rural food surplus production zones in Eastern Africa to major deficit urban consumption centres requires a well-functioning regional market,” said EAGC executive director Gerald Masila at the time.
“We wanted to address this deficiency but also do it in a way that is inclusive and effective. This is why we developed G-Soko.”
The East Africa Exchange (EAX) which is based in Kigali is another platform where Kenyan farmers, millers and buyers can trade in grain. The EAX opened its doors for Kenyans in February 2014.
The Nairobi Securities Exchange also plans to set up a futures market for grains and other assets. Efforts to set up such exchanges in the 1990s and 2000s had come a cropper.
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