As part of its determination to further deepen the Nigerian capital market and ensure a vibrant commodities exchange, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), will hold a roundtable on the commodities Trading Eco-system on October 3 in Lagos.
According to Ms. Mary Uduk, Acting Director-General of the commission, the roundtable, with “Building a strong Commodities Trading Ecosystem for Inclusive Economic Development,” as the theme, will offer industry experts, policymakers and thought leaders a platform to discuss further on how to develop the commodities market in Nigeria.
Uduk said the roundtable seeks to get the buy-in of policymakers and agencies of government and of stakeholder perspectives towards attracting investments and more participation in the commodities market.
According to her, “the Capital Market Master Plan did an analysis of where we are and where we want to be as the leading capital market in Africa, and one of the areas is the commodities market which is very important, but one of the least developed. The Nigerian economy is mainly agrarian, all states of the federation have exportable quantities of commodities and we have some of the highest grades in the world.
“Government wants to diversify to agriculture and so we need to be able to export some of these commodities. If the farmers do very well, the earnings of the country will be boosted,” she stressed.
These commodities, the acting DG noted, are exportable, just as industries can be set up to employ a large number of our teeming population.
“If we can develop this very well, our country will be better for it. What we need now is better pricing, transparency, and better quality and these are what we set to achieve with the farmers and that is why the Commodities Exchange is important.
“The crude form they are trading now does not provide the farmers with the benefit of price discovery, transparency among others. The only way to achieve these is to have an exchange hence the need arose to set up the Technical Committee to look holistically at all the issues, the nation needs to harness the full potentials in the Commodities market.
According to her, the aim of SEC is to have an efficient commodities exchange, a sector of the capital market that is currently dormant, a major reason why the commission is championing capacity building and public enlightenment campaigns.
“We have already commenced capacity building for stakeholders and the public on commodities exchange to bridge the current knowledge gap to ensure we reap the benefits of trading in commodities, all these are part of the implementation of the report of its Technical Committee on Commodities Trading Ecosystem,” she said.
Among topics for discussion at the roundtable include the provision of an enabling environment for functional commodities trading system, developing a thriving commodities market: success stories from Africa and Emerging economies and Private sector involvement: Key to a strong commodities trading system.
Recall that the Commodities Trading Ecosystem committee’s report, published on SEC’s website, contains no fewer than 40 recommendations on how to ensure an efficient commodities exchange.