Semer la croissance: Libérer le potentiel des bourses de produits agricoles en Afrique subsaharienne

Kohnert, Dirk (2025): Semer la croissance: Libérer le potentiel des bourses de produits agricoles en Afrique subsaharienne.

Abstract

The establishment of commodity exchanges offers significant advantages for low-income, agriculturally dependent countries seeking to enhance export performance. A notable example is the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX), which contributed to a substantial increase in coffee exports, benefiting producers through expanded export volumes and diversified market access. Similarly, in May 2025, Côte d’Ivoire launched West Africa’s first agricultural commodities exchange, supported by the Regional Stock Exchange (BRVM)—the common securities market for the eight member states of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). Initially, this exchange lists cashew nuts, kola nuts, and maize, with plans to expand trading to cocoa and approximately twenty additional commodities in the future. Africa currently hosts 38 stock exchanges across 29 national capital markets, 22 of which are members of the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA). Among these, 12 countries facilitate agricultural commodity trading: South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Uganda. Commodity exchanges in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) play a pivotal role in strengthening market structures by improving market access, mitigating price volatility, and integrating smallholder farmers into formal economic systems. Despite structural challenges—such as infrastructural deficits and capacity-building needs—these platforms demonstrate considerable potential for fostering sustainable agricultural development in the region. Empirical evidence suggests that while market capitalization negatively impacts agricultural growth, the value of traded stocks exerts a positive influence. Consequently, governments in African emerging economies should prioritize capital market expansion to stimulate growth through agricultural value addition. Policy frameworks that bolster investor confidence via institutional strengthening and stock market development are essential. However, it is equally critical to recognize the potential for cross-market risk transmission, given the continent’s heavy reliance on commodities and the interdependence between stock market performance and macroeconomic stability. Risk transmission arises when information dissemination is delayed or incomplete, leading to contagion effects where adverse market sentiment spreads irrespective of local conditions. Notably, commodity prices and exchange rate fluctuations exhibit bidirectional risk transmission with SSA stock markets, particularly over the long term. Thus, shifts in these variables can significantly influence stock market volatility in the region.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• English Title: Seeding Growth: Unlocking the Potential of Agricultural Commodity Exchanges in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Language: French
• Keywords: Bourse; matières premières; PMA; fruit tropical; agriculture; croissance économique; Afrique subsaharienne; café; cacao; noix de cajou; noix de kola; maïs; ASEA; Afrique du Sud; Nigeria; Kenya; Côte d'Ivoire; Éthiopie; capitalisation boursière; performance boursière; transmission du risque; taux de change; efficacité du marché; petits exploitants agricoles; économie des institutions; découverte des prix
• Subjects: D - Microeconomics > D2 - Production and Organizations > D23 - Organizational Behavior ; Transaction Costs ; Property Rights; D - Microeconomics > D2 - Production and Organizations > D24 - Production ; Cost ; Capital ; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity ; Capacity; D - Microeconomics > D4 - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design > D44 - Auctions; D - Microeconomics > D5 - General Equilibrium and Disequilibrium > D53 - Financial Markets; D - Microeconomics > D8 - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty > D84 - Expectations ; Speculations; E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E0 - General > E02 - Institutions and the Macroeconomy; N - Economic History > N1 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics ; Industrial Structure ; Growth ; Fluctuations > N17 - Africa ; Oceania; N - Economic History > N2 - Financial Markets and Institutions > N27 - Africa ; Oceania; N - Economic History > N5 - Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment, and Extractive Industries > N57 - Africa ; Oceania; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O13 - Agriculture ; Natural Resources ; Energy ; Environment ; Other Primary Products; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture > Q13 - Agricultural Markets and Marketing ; Cooperatives ; Agribusiness; Z - Other Special Topics > Z1 - Cultural Economics ; Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology > Z13 - Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology ; Social and Economic Stratification

References

Aboagye, Anthony (2023): Structuring African warehouse receipt systems to succeed. Athens journal of business & economics, vol. 9 (4), pp. 475 – 492

Abdallah, Marwa Ben (2024): Factors of food security: agricultural price transmission and volatility spillovers. PhD, Hungarian Univ. of Agric. And Life Sciences, Gödöllő, Hungary, 54 p.

Afful, Kofi (2018): Does the structure of SSA economies explain their low stock market capitalization and small number of listed companies? A dynamic panel analysis. Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development, vol.9 (10), pp. 145-152

Afonso, A. & M. Reimers (2022): Does the introduction of stock exchange markets boost economic growth in African countries? Journal of Comparative Economics, pp. 1-95

Ajakaiye, D.O. & A.S. Olomola (2011): Developing agricultural commodity markets for improved regional trade in Africa. In: International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). Towards Priority Actions for Market Development for African Farmers: Proceedings of an International Conference. 13-15 May 2009, Nairobi, Kenya, pp. 370-391

Alade, Muyiwa E. (2025): Value relevance of accounting numbers in emerging Sub-Saharan Africa stock markets: Comparison between Ghana and Nigeria. In: Moloi, T. (eds): Impacting Society Positively Through Technology in Accounting and Business Processes. ICAB 2024. Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics. Springer, Cham. 10 May 2025, pp. 1-9

Alawode, Adedapo & O.T. Chiam (2024): Linking structured commodity markets with formal agricultural finance to improve value chain transparency and inclusion. International Journal of Advance Research Publication and Reviews, vol 1 (4), pp 87-109

Akidi, Victor & I.F. Cookey & O.T. Olise (2025): Empirical analysis of commodity trade on economic well-being: Evidence from Nigeria. International Journal of Social Sciences and Management Research, vol 11 (1), pp. 269-288

Akunga, Robert & A.H. Ahmad & Simeon Coleman (2023): Financial market integration in sub‐Saharan Africa: How important is contagion? Int J Fin Econ., pp. 28:3637–3653R Akunga, AH Ahmad… - International Journal of …, 2023 - 29 March 2022

Ambaw, Dessie Tarko & Habtamu Edjigu & Nicholas Sim (2025): Improving exports: Quasi‐experimental evidence from the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange. The World Economy, vol. 48 (5), pp. 1156-1173

Arthur, Solomon (2025): The effects of macroeconomic indicators on agricultural commodity prices in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. University of Cape Coast, 85 p.

Austin, Duncan (2020): The history of ESG in 5 cartoons: What next? Linkedin, 21 April 2020

Canuto, Otaviano & S. Emran & B. Mandri (2024): Financializing commodity markets: consequences, Advantages and African case study. Policy Center for the New South, cademia.edu, pp. 1-18

Ebe, F.E. et al (2022): Impact of ICT usage on success/failure of youth-led agribusiness activities in different agricultural value chains in Southeast Nigeria. Nigeria Agricultural Journal, vol. 53 (3), pp. 212-215

Ifeoma, Odunze Daisy (2019): A review of the Nigerian agricultural promotion policy (2016-2020): implications for entrepreneurship in the agribusiness sector. International Journal of Agricultural Policy and Research, vol.7 (3), pp. 70-79

Ike-Muonso, N. (2024): Commodities Exchanges and Nigeria’s Raw Materials Development. Raw Materials 360, n.p.

Issa, F.O. & O.E. Fapojuwo & T.D. Bidoli (2011): Improving agricultural marketing efficiency through the commodity exchange system in Nigeria: a review. Nigerian Journal of Agricultural Economics, vol. 2(1), pp. 89- 99, AgEcon Search 27

Kohnert, Dirk (2018): Trump's tariff’s impact on Africa and the ambiguous role of African agency. Review of African Political Economy, 2018, vol. 45, No. 157, pp. 451-466

Kohnert, Dirk (2014): African agency and EU- African Economic Partnership Agreements. Review Article. Africa Spectrum, 49 (2014) 3: 149-155

Kohnert, D. (2011): Cultures of innovation of the African Poor – Common roots, shared traits, joint prospects? On the articulation of multiple modernities in African societies and Black Diasporas in Latin America. In: LeMeur, Pierre-Yves / Schareika, Nik / Spies, Eva (eds.)(2011): Auf dem Boden der Tatsachen, pp. 241-262

Kone, Z.Y. & Y.P. N’Dri & G.A. Kone (2022): L'introduction en bourse comme résultante d'une vision stratégique des dirigeants: cas des entreprises en Côte d'Ivoire. Revue Française d’Economie et de Gestion, vol. 3 (10), pp. 285-305

Laurent, Théodore (2025): La Côte d’Ivoire ouvre une bourse des matières premières agricoles, une première en Afrique de l’Ouest. Le Monde, 4 May 2025

Liesdek, Boaz (2017): Why do challenges in African commodity exchanges persist? The case of the agricultural commodity exchange in Malawi. Wageningen, Dept. of Mang. Studies, 95 p.

Mhlanga, D. (2024). Green finance and the evolution of financial markets in Sub-Saharan Africa: A comprehensive analysis. In: Mhlanga, D., Dzingirai, M. (eds): Sustainable Finance and Business in Sub-Saharan Africa., 14 December 2024, pp. 209–225

Munro, Kathy (2019): A delightful 1987 calendar celebrating the centenary of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. February 23, 2019

Neza, Keren & Yaw Nyarko & Angela Orozco (2022): Digital trading and market platforms: Ghana case study. In: Temina Madon & Ashok J. Gadgil (eds.): Introduction to Development Engineering, pp. 221-246

Ngong, C.A. et al. (2022): Stock market development and agricultural growth of emerging economies in Africa. Journal of Capital Markets Studies, vol. 6 No. 2, pp. 185-202

Nyarko, Y. (2025). Rural credit markets and farmers’ behaviors. In: Kararach, G., Moreira, E.P., Murinde, V. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Development Finance. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham., pp. 435–449

Olomola, Aderibigbe (2015): Understanding the framework for intergovernmental interactions in the implementation of Nigeria’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda. NSSP Working Paper 27. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute, 53 p.

O’Neill, Dominic (2013): Africa: Fast finance for the new frontier of food. Euromoney, September 17, 2013

Owoo, Robert Dowuona (2021): Introduction to the Ghana Commodity Exchange. Youtube

Raji, A. O. (2016): An evaluation of the Abuja Commodity Exchange Model for agricultural marketing and market development in Nigeria. Elite Research Project, Uyo, Nigeria, Chapt. 1-5

Robbins, P. et al (2004): Advice manual for the organisation of collective marketing activities by small-scale farmers. Natural Resources Institute (NRI), University of Greenwich, 104 p.

Salar, Sahar & H. Izadi & M.R. Pourfakharan (2025): Identification, analysis, and prioritization of effective components of agricultural commodity exchange with a financial foresight approach. Business, Marketing, and Finance Open, vol. 2 (2), pp. 138-147

Staff Reporter (2019): Grain hedging: lessons from the farmers who get it right. Farmers’s weekly, 22 August 2019

Tamru, Seneshaw &Bart Minten, Johan Swinnen (2021): Trade, value chains, and rent distribution with foreign exchange controls: Coffee exports in Ethiopia. Agricultural Economics, vol. 52 (1), pp. 81-95

Tawiah, Anang (2015): The Ghana Commodity Exchange Series: Collateral Management and Warehouse Receipt Systems (WRS). Modern Ghana, 3. September 2015

William, Larbi (2022): Smallholder maize farmers market participation on a commodity exchange: The case of Ghana commodity exchange. Russian Journal of Agricultural and Socio-Economic …, vol. 4, 124, pp. 84-93

Woode, John Kingsley (2024) : Commodities, exchange rates, and equity markets in commodity-dependent Sub-Saharan African countries. DSpace Repositorium, June 2024, 198 p.