The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Trading of mangoes goes online

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 15, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Trading of mangoes goes online

S. Prasad

Farmers can pre-determine the prices in the portal before harvesting

Farmer-friendly: Members of Krishnagiri District Mango Growers’ Association trading mangoes at the spot trading exchange in Pochampalli.

Krishnagiri: Farmers in Krishnagiri can now get fair prices for their mangoes. From now on, they will be able to market their produce worldwide at the click of a mouse thanks to the online spot trading introduced by Safal National Exchange for Tothapuri mangoes in Krishnagiri district.

SNX based in Bangalore and a joint venture between National Dairy Development Board and Multi-commodity Exchange of India (MCX) will conduct on-the-spot electronic trading for mangoes in Krishnagiri and Pochampalli taluks. The online spot trading was introduced at the delivery centre in Pochampalli recently. More than 300 tonnes of mangoes were traded so far. Trading would be conducted between 12 noon to 5 p.m. on weekdays and between 12 noon to 2 p.m. on weekends.

Farmers can pre-determine the prices which will be displayed in the trading portal before harvesting their produce. As many as 25 farmers from Krishnagiri district have enrolled their names with the exchange.

According to the Chief Manager of SNX, Tamil Nadu, N. Palaniappan, “farmers on bringing their produce will grade and sort them at the Regulated Marketing Committee at Pochampalli as per the quality standards specified by SNX.”

Following this, officials from SNX will undertake an inspection and issue a quality certificate to the farmers. They will also facilitate warehousing and logistics facility. Mangoes which meet the required norms including size, quality, colour and shape alone will be allowed for trading.

The prices will be fixed by the farmers and displayed on the trading screen based on prices in markets across the country.

The whole trading process will be a ‘One India One Market’ concept. If the prices of the farmer and the buyer match trading will be complete. Farmers will get their money within two days of trading.

The delivery needs to be completed before the next day of trading between 12 to 5 p.m. Sources in SNX pointed out that a penalty of 10 per cent would be imposed on the farmer if he failed to sell the produce after trading.

Similarly a penalty of 10 per cent would also be imposed on the buyer if he failed to lift the commodity. Plans are afoot to launch additional delivery centres in the district for banana, onion, potato and coconut.

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