Tanzania Mercantile Exchange (TMX)

Who runs TMX and under what law

TMX describes itself as established under a public-private partnership with the Government of Tanzania. It names the CMSA as its regulator but gives no licence number or date ³. TMX says it works to comply with the Commodity Exchange Act and the Warehouse Receipt Act and sets trading rules for each commodity ³.

The CMSA states that it regulates Tanzania's capital markets under the Capital Markets and Securities Act, Chapter 79 ⁴. The Warehouse Receipts Regulations, 2016 provide that negotiable warehouse receipts are endorsed under the Commodity Exchange Act ⁵.

What is traded

TMX lists soybeans, chickpeas, pigeon peas, sesame, cocoa, green grams, several Robusta and Arabica coffee grades, and cashew from 14 regions. It handles mineral trades too ¹. WRRB has held talks with the Mining Commission on trading minerals through the warehouse receipt system ⁷.

How a TMX auction works

• Sellers deliver produce to a licensed warehouse, where it is weighed, graded and stored under WRRB oversight ¹.
• Each deposit becomes an electronic receipt. Receipts are grouped into auction lots with published quality and quantity ¹.
• Licensed buyers fund a security bond before bidding. The system blocks bids the bond cannot cover ¹.
• Timed auctions use fixed bid steps and auto-bid. The seller must consent to each sale ¹.
• Winning buyers are invoiced and pay through the banking system ¹.
• After payment is confirmed, sellers are paid and buyers get a release order to collect goods from the warehouse ¹.

Clearing and settlement

TMX says it acts as central counterparty to every member's trades. It calculates each member's net position and notifies daily obligations ². Cash and ownership move between members through its clearing system with its clearing banks, named as NMB Bank and CRDB Bank ².

Brokers and dealers fund a Settlement Guarantee Fund. TMX says the fund covers a broker or dealer who cannot pay, to stop one default spreading ². The TMX settlement page gives no settlement timeline and no fee amounts ².

Volumes and an example auction

A TMX news post says that from 2019 to 2025 about 1,450,202 tonnes of crops and minerals were sold across 10 value chains, worth about TZS 4.12 trillion ¹. The post carries no exact date ¹.

In November 2025, the Tandahimba Newala Cooperative Union (TANECU) sold 26,254 tonnes of raw cashew through the TMX online platform in Tandahimba District. Prices ranged from TSh 2,550 to TSh 3,520 per kg, as reported by Anne Robi of Daily News ⁶.