Ghana Commodities Exchange surpasses 2025 trading volumes in Q1 2026 – CEO

Momentum is building at the Ghana Commodities Exchange (GCX), which has already surpassed its entire 2025 trading volume within the first quarter of 2026, according to its Chief Executive Officer, Evelyn Abakah.

In an exclusive interview with Business and Financial Times (B&FT) in Accra, Abakah, revealed that the exchange had traded 2,130 metric tonnes of commodities from January to March 2026 – surpassing the 1,700 metric tonnes recorded for the whole of last year.

However, she warned that absence of a mandatory trading policy continues underminIing efforts to protect farmers from exploitation amid the grain glut and lift them out of poverty.

Despite government allocating huge funds for the National Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) to mop up excess grains in the system to stabilise prices and prevent post-harvest losses, Abakah stated that NAFCO operations are being conducted without the benefit of the exchange’s price discovery mechanism, warehousing facilities and mandatory grading for aflatoxin contamination.

she said.

“We initially worked with NAFCO—helping dry and bag the grains but that work has halted. Now we are waiting for the next contract to continue,” she said.

Abakah therefore urged government to mandate that all NAFCO operations be channelled through the commodity exchange platform to boost activity, ensure access to quality grading, prevent aflatoxin contamination and promote fair pricing.

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“I expected there would have been a policy that mandates certain commodities be traded on the platform. But as it stands, there’s nothing like that,” she noted.

Abakah stressed that the absence of a mandatory trading framework is having devastating consequences on the very farmers government seeks to protect.

Recounting a recent visit to Tamale, Abakah narrated an emotional encounter with a farmer.

“It hurt me to hear a farmer say ‘We determine the food that comes to this country, but we’re the poorest people’. It broke my heart. That’s the honest truth,” she said.

She said a farmer explained how middlewomen pressure producers to heap grains and purchase them at unreasonably low prices.

By contrast, she noted, farmers would benefit from transparent pricing if the same produce were traded through the GCX.

“If they were mandated to bring their produce to the GCX, pricing would be based on a standard 50kg bag – which would enable farmers to earn more. Currently, middlewomen take nearly double that quantity for the same price,” she said.

Abakah noted that mandating the trade of commodities destined for export – such as cashew – go through the exchange would ensure traceability, accurate revenue collection and proper forex tracking, while guaranteeing farmers receive the right prices.

She disclosed that she is in talks with the Tree Crops Development Authority to finalise an MoU which would allow for the trade of tree crops, including cashew and mango, on the platform.

Abakah said her outfit has undertaken some operational improvements aimed at bridging the information gap between farmers and markets and mitigating the impact of post-harvest losses.

She revealed that the exchange launched a USSD platform accessible via just three digits, enabling farmers in remote areas to check commodity prices and availability of offtakers before heading to market.

She added that the exchange has also partnered with World Vision to train 99 farmer groups in northern Ghana on post-harvest handling techniques.

She noted that some farmers hold onto their produce in anticipation of higher prices, only to incur losses when prices begin to decline due to limited market knowledge.

“It becomes a financial drain on the farmers,” she said.

Abakah noted that regulatory misalignment and storage limitations are preventing the country from turning domestic gluts into export opportunities, raising concerns about Ghana’s readiness to capitalise on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.

She revealed that during a visit to Zimbabwe she identified demand for maize, but noted Ghana lacks the regulatory alignment and shipping coordination required to meet such demands.

However, she disclosed plans of signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to facilitate rice trade between Nigeria and Ghana.

Looking ahead, Abakah said her top priority is to secure a policy that mandates trading key commodities on the exchange.

She added that the GCX is also exploring expansion into non-traditional commodities, including metals and oil, as well as eventually trading perishable goods such as tomatoes and pepper.

“It’s an area we may go into – tomatoes, pepper, garden eggs,” she said.

However, she acknowledged that current cold storage capacity remains inadequate.