Africa Newsletter 06-14-21

East Africa Update

Flour Prices Fall On Reduced Cost Of Maize Grain
As the maize price in Kenya continues to fall, the price of maize flour has also seen a reduction at shelves with a 2kg packet now quoted at KES 106. Millers are now receiving maize at KES 2,700 per 90 kg bag compared to KES 2,800 per 90 kg bag in the previous two months but millers are still not receiving sufficient supply according to The Business Daily. More stocks are expected to be made available from next month from a short crop in the South Rift and also the new crop coming in from Uganda.

Africa Newsletter 05-28-21

Bread Price To Jump KES 6 On Tax Plan
As the Kenyan government is ready to implement a 16% VAT on bread, bakers have signaled a rise in a loaf by KES 6 as this would increase the cost of production and leave companies no choice but to transfer this extra cost onto the consumer.

PanXchange® Hemp: Benchmarks & Analysis – May 2021 FREE

Subscribe to PanXchange’s monthly report on the US industrial hemp industry. Reports are issued the last Wednesday of every month and include the country’s leading benchmark prices and analysis. Interactive pricing charts, regional maps, Monthly surveys with responses submitted by industry members, Access to all historical reports, charts, data and previously recorded webinars.

PanXchange® Hemp: Benchmarks & Analysis – Apr 2021

Our hemp team continues to make progress with the roll out of the trading platform for fiber and hurd. As many of you know, we are finalizing the trading terms such as the quality specifications required by commercial buyers (vs cannabinoids where we allowed the listing of any quality variation). The faster we can establish standard commercially viable terms, the faster this sector of the market can grow.

PanXchange® Hemp: Benchmarks & Analysis – Feb 2021

As most of you know, the PanXchange team has worked very hard over the years to provide transparency and intelligence to markets that were previously completely opaque and inefficient. Hemp is not the first market we cover, but it is the most exciting with the most growth potential.

One of our competitors is quite frustrated with the market share that PanXchange has earned and has consequently turned to a federal lawsuit in an attempt to drain our resources. Specifically, they’re attempting to block us from using the term “hemp benchmarks” when there is no substitute for “hemp,” and the USPTO has declared “benchmark” as merely descriptive and not protected. Please see this link for details on the suit.

PanXchange® Hemp: Benchmarks & Analysis – Jan 2021

As we illustrated in last month’s year-end report, the cannabinoid market is grossly oversupplied. Not surprisingly, producers throughout the country continue to struggle with spot transactions and selling products outright that were not contracted for 2020. Processors continue to reiterate that the quality of the product varies widely with newer, inexperienced growers. Trading has been light this month, yet the bottom on biomass pricing continues to decline, consolidating around a low of $1/lb. This consolidation creates an imminent problem considering that processors are charging anywhere from $1-5 per pound for outright processing on biomass, far more than the product itself is worth. Nonetheless, due to product degradation, many producers were forced into processing agreements to avoid further degradation of unsold biomass.