The Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange (LCFE) has restated its role in addressing Nigeria’s food security challenges.
The LCFE Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Akin Akeredolu-Ale, said this in an interview on Friday in Lagos.
Mr Akeredolu-Ale said that the LCFE through its structured platform ensure trading and pricing for agricultural commodities.
“The LCFE plays a critical role in addressing food insecurity by providing a structured platform for trading agricultural commodities.
“This, in turn, promotes price discovery and data collation to support financing for stakeholders in the agriculture value chain.
“We boast of 14 Securities and Exchange Commission approved commodities, including paddy rice, cocoa, cashew, ginger and wheat, among others.
“The exchange, in partnership with the Lagos State Government, has successfully facilitated the supply of paddy and facilitated the trading of processed (head) rice across Nigeria.
“These transactions underscore our pivotal role in bridging supply-demand gaps and optimising market efficiencies,” Mr Akeredolu-Ale said.
According to him, the LCFE enables farmers to secure better prices for their produce for increased production and food availability.
“By offering transparent pricing, risk management tools, and market access, LCFE enables farmers to secure better prices for their produce, which can lead to increased production and food availability.
“Additionally, LCFE attracts investments into the agricultural sector, fostering innovation and improving supply chains, ultimately contributing to greater food security,” he said.
He noted that commodities trading LCFE play critical roles in ensuring food availability and affordability.
“Commodities trading through LCFE ensures that food products are efficiently distributed across the country by matching supply with demand.
“This helps stabilise prices and reduce volatility, making food more affordable for consumers,” Mr Akeredolu-Ale said.
He said through forward contracts and futures, the LCFE would enable producers to lock in prices, which protects both farmers and consumers from the negative effects of price fluctuations due to seasonal changes or unforeseen events.
“With the guidance of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), registered members of the Exchange can develop a series of financial instruments such as commodity notes and commodity funds to ensure structured financing is accessible to the stakeholders of the ecosystem,” he said.
Mr Akeredolu-Ale also commended the federal government’s efforts in boosting food availability and affordability by its tax exemption on some agro-produce imports.
“We would like to commend the Federal Government, the Ministry of Finance and Customs on its new policy on duty-free agro-commodities being traded through registered commodities exchanges like LCFE.
“This will ensure that a proper structure is in place for the legal importation of commodities. With this structure LCFE can easily collate data and pull it out at any given time to allow for proper planning.
“All stakeholders that participate in the Nigerian capital market automatically undergo a strict Know Your Customer process which ensures that the government can identify all participants under this policy,” he said.
The LCFE was incorporated in May 2015, and was granted full operating license on June 14, 2019, by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
LCFE is a commodities Exchange that trades on agricultural commodities, currencies, oil and gas and solid materials.
Its vision is to transform the Nigerian commodities market and redefine practice standards and to catalyse economic growth in Nigeria, boosting the commodities value-chains and foreign earnings and reward all stakeholders.
(NAN)
