Chapter 14. An analysis of Maize value chain and competitiveness in BurkinaFaso 469
Fig.7 Maize prices in Burkina Faso
Source: Diakité, 2006.
Fully liberalized maize markets imply seasonal price variability, which is supposed to provide incentives
for farmers to store crops; however, the carrying costs are often not recovered because of the variability
in spot wholesale markets and bad infrastructures for storage. Many factors cause this failure of storage
capacities: uncertainties about speculative storage profitability; the disposal of remaining public stocks
and food aid; future policies and related expectations; weak systems of crop forecasting; no informa-
tion on private stockholding (information problem); weak financial frameworks and banking sectors;
infant warehouse receipt systems; shortage of creditworthy customers (e.g. no collateral, information
problems, credibility problems); and farmers’ cash constraints or risk-aversion towards storage losses
because of insects, rodents or molds^5.
Cereal prices follow a similar intra-annual pattern every season, beginning with low levels at harvest,
increasing and reaching maximum values during the lean period and then collapsing during harvests.
This behavior is attributable to production and supply conditions. The first has to do with climatic
factors, while the second has to do with low levels of storage among producers. Storage by traders
and wholesalers increases marketing costs, and, together with a decrease in supply, is responsible for
the increasing pattern of prices over the season.
(^5) Mali offers one interesting counter-example, where there has been good recorded storage of millet and sorghum
for several years.
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2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Maize prices in CFAF^
Producer price Collector price Consumer price