VICTORIA ONU, ABUJA
THE Securities and Exchange Commission is advocating the speedy approval and publication of standards relevant to the commodities trading ecosystem.
The Director-General of SEC, Lamido Yuguda, said this during a meeting with the management of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria in Abuja on Wednesday.
Yuguda said the Commission, as part of its implementation of the 10-year Capital Market Master Plan, constituted a Technical Committee on commodities Trading Ecosystem whose mandate was to identify challenges of the existing framework and develop a roadmap for a vibrant ecosystem.
Yuguda added that it was globally recognised that a unique feature of a commodities exchange was the standardisation of the commodities traded on its platform.
He said, “A committee comprising of various stakeholders including the SON was set up to drive the implementation of the report.
“One of the recommendations in the report identified development of grading and standardisation system in line with international best practice.
“However, the determination of these grades and standards is dependent upon approved local standards which should take into cognisance internationally accepted standards.
“Imbibing international standards for export commodities cannot be compromised if the exchanges have to play a pivotal role in export promotion.”
The SEC boss said in recognition of the fact that the statutory responsibility of standard setting in Nigeria “lies with the SON, the Commission on behalf of all stakeholders seeks to partner with the SON.”
This, he said, was with a view to ensuring the expedited approval and publication of standards for commodities in the ecosystem.
He expressed optimism that the establishment of relevant standards would be transformational for the Nigerian Commodities Trading Ecosystem.
Yuguda said, “Standards provide consumers with an assurance of fitness of purpose, processors with commodities specifications, and serves as reference point against which features of commodities can be compared.
“Other benefits include increase in value to smallholder farmers due to premium paid on high quality commodities, reduction of post-harvest losses due to standard post-harvest handling, packaging and storage, as well as increased employment opportunities through the setup of warehouses.
“More benefits include global acceptance of commodities produced in Nigeria for export leading to increased foreign earnings, increase in number of processing plants in Nigeria due to better quality of raw materials and overall development of the Nigerian economy.”
The SEC DG added that the Commission was committed to mobilising relevant stakeholders in the Commodities Trading Ecosystem to provide the support needed by SON to achieve the approval and publication of the commodities standards.
He added that standard setting was a project of national importance and the Commission along with other stakeholders would work with SON in the achievement of this objective, and by extension, national food security and self-sufficiency.
In his remarks, the DG of SON, Farouk Salim, said the agency was excited to collaborate with the SEC as it sought to develop the capital market in Nigeria and the Nigerian economy at large.
Salim assured that SON was willing to work with SEC to ensure that the country is able to export commodities of high standards and attract the much needed foreign exchange.
