Agricultural commodities, not oil, delivered the clearest signal for African equities this week. Wheat fell 1.3% to 658.5 cents, cocoa dropped 1.6% to $3,845, coffee slipped 0.7% to 268.35 cents, and cotton lost 1.1% to 81.45 cents. That mix mattered directly for listed African companies tied to farming, processing and food consumption, from the BRVM in West Africa to Nairobi and Tunis.
Across African stock markets today, the pullback in farm commodities created a sharper split than the 5.6% daily drop in Brent to $105.03 a barrel. Export-oriented markets with cocoa and coffee exposure faced softer sentiment around agricultural names, while net grain importers gained some relief on input costs. The contrast was especially visible between the BRVM, where Côte d’Ivoire anchors the world’s largest cocoa industry, the Nairobi Securities Exchange, where coffee-linked counters remain sensitive to export pricing, and Tunisia’s market, where consumer names track wheat and currency moves closely.
Key figures
- Wheat: 658.5 cents, down 1.3%
- Cocoa: $3,845, down 1.6%
- Coffee: 268.35 cents, down 0.7%
- Cotton: 81.45 cents, down 1.1%
- USD/KES: 129.4, up