One of the most cultivated leguminous vegetable in Nigeria, Soybean attracted the most gain in agricultural commodities trading on AFEX Exchange during June and continued to outstrip paddy rice, Cocoa, Sorghum, Ginger and Maize season-till-date.
The crop gained 3.64 percent week-on-week, moving from an average of 151 points during the first week to 156.50 between 7th and 13th of the month, according to data obtained from AFEX Commodities Weekly Price Report. The increase drove the Soybeans from 25.83 percent to 35 percent, followed from a distance by Ginger 11.47 percent, Maize 11.11 and Sorghum 7.79.
The latest AFEX Commodities Index composite – a collection of all commodities indexes averaged together to represent overall market or sector performance – averaged 170.68 points during June, marking a 2.97 point increase from 1.77 percentage point at the beginning of the month. It also represented a recovery from the initial neutral performance due to the closure of markets from the public holidays.
The Soybean sub-index had the only positive performance amongst the sub-indices of the composite.
According to the report, maximum prices for Maize, Sorghum, Soybean and Paddy Rice were recorded in Shuwarin market, Jigawa State; Oja tuntun, Kwara; Dawanau market, Kano and Mbulatawiwi, Borno state. The minimum price for maize, sorghum, Soybeans and Paddy Rice were recorded in Sabuwar Kasuwa, Borno State; Leggal, Gombe; Mbulatawiwi, Borno and Kamba, Kebbi state. For ginger, the minimum and maximum price was recorded in Kwoi market Kaduna state.
The report tracked price movement of commodities traded on the exchange and all executed prices inclusive of logistics cost, covering commodities from farm gate to the reference delivery point.
During the first week of June, the commodities index composite averaged 167.71 points, marking a flat performance over the week due to the closure of markets from the public holidays. All sub-indices of the composite index recorded neutral independent performances for the period, with maize falling during the week due to the increase in quantity available in the market without an equal increase in their demand.
“Paddy rice saw a little increase in price. We expect this trend to continue till price stabilises as planting season begins,” the report said.
The period saw maximum prices for Maize, Sorghum, Soybean and Paddy rice in Dawanau market, Kano state; Kwaya, Kusar, Borno and Biu, Borno. The minimum price for maize, Sorgum Soybeans and Paddy rice were recorded in Saba, Kaduna state; Biu, Borno and Burbura, Jigawa.
Maximum and minimum price for Cocoa was recorded in Ovia, Edo State and Awopeju, Ondo, while the maximum and minimum price for Ginger was recorded in Kwoi and Wolijo markets, Kaduna.
On digital platforms for agricultural investment monitored by BusinessDay, soybeans deals for July were already sold out. On Farmcrowdy, for instance, a unit of Soybean to be farmed in Jos was offered at N148, 000 with 14 percent return on investment in five months. As of July 5th, no units were left.
But Thrive Agric, another investment platform had just begun its offer July 2nd, with 9069 out of 10,000 units left. At N47, 600, the Soybean project would be carried out on a total of 5400 hectares of farmland located in Wasagu, Kebbi State and Kaboji in Niger.
According to IITA, the demand for soybeans in Nigeria alone is currently estimated at 2.2 million tons while the annual production is only at 600,000 tons. Although Nigeria remains the largest producer of soybeans in Sub-Saharan Africa, the huge gap between demand and supply makes the crop insufficient for consumption, hence, a need to cultivate soybean.
But according to the United States Department of Agriculture, Nigeria has produced 1.1 million metric tons so far in 2019, rising 4.3 percent from 1.054 million in 2018.
