Farmers can now heave a sigh of relief from the burden of transportation of their commodities following introduction of commodity exchange depots by AHL Group’s Commodity Exchange (AHCX).
Many times farmers have failed to realise maximum profits on their commodities due to the soaring transport costs to the market.
But Communications Manager at AHCX Thom Khanje says all that will be a thing of the past with the coming in of their commodity warehouses in every district across the country.
He said, in the arrangement, farmers will no longer deal directly with the buyers as a way of encouraging competitive prices.
“Apart from solving the transport woes, we are also taking care of the prices. After registering with us, farmers can deposit their produce of any quantity at any of our warehouses and also decide on the minimum price. Then buyers will have to compete for the product by offering a higher price at the commodity exchange market, in Lilongwe,” Khanje explained.
He further said through the commodity exchange market, it is easy for farmers to connect with international buyers, which he said is currently difficult.
“We want farmers to embrace this new concept and start reaping from their hard work and also enjoy the bargaining power bestowed on them, after speedy paperwork, they will have their money in the bank account,” he added.
Khanje then discouraged farmers against dealing with vendors who he said apart from offering low prices, also dupe them by tampering with the weighing scales.
This comes barely a week after farmers from Mwahenga Cooperative in Rumphi disclosed that they had lost over K9 million of projected revenue from soya beans after buyers rescinded their decision on business deals.
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