Inter State trade on e-NAM platform gain momentum
Inter State trade of agricultural produce in wholesale mandis through National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) platform is gathering pace with the latest transaction taking place at Madhya Pradesh Mandsaur e-NAM mandi, which sold coriander to Ramganj mandi of Rajasthan. Similarly, inter state transaction is taking place at Maharashtra’s Akola e-NAM mandi, which sold green gram to Nokha mandi of Rajasthan. Recently, the first Inter State transaction in tomatoes has been carried out between trader of Bareilly e-NAM APMC of Uttar Pradesh and farmer of Haldwani e-NAM APMC of Uttarakhand, followed by similar trade in groundnut between farmers of Gadwal mandi in Telangana and Trader of Kurnool mandi in Andhra Pradesh.
So far 21 e-NAM mandis of eight States namely Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra & Madhya Pradesh had joined hands to start inter –State trade on e-NAM. Apart from Uttarakhand & Uttar Pradesh, inter State trade also happened between Andhra Pradesh & Telangana, Rajasthan & Gujarat, Maharashtra & Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh & Rajasthan.
136 inter-State transactions & 14 commodities which include vegetables, pulses, cereals, oilseeds, spices etc. have been traded under inter–state trade through e-NAM platform in a short span of time. Rajasthan is the first State to start inter-State trade with more than one State, establishing trade link with Gujarat, Maharashtra & Madhya Pradesh through e-NAM. Volume of inter-State trade is also picking up as farmers & traders are gaining confidence in the system. Initially started with 25 commodities, e-trade facilities have been provided on 124 commodities with tradable parameters on e-NAM portal. Through inter State trade, farmers get better market access, more buyers/ traders & realise better prices for their produce. This online platform will prove to be a giant leap in reforming the agriculture market in India.
Initially, trade on e-NAM started inside the individual e-NAM mandi, with farmers and traders of that mandi. After persuasive efforts by the Government inter-mandi trade on e-NAM platform started within the State. Now inter-mandi trade within e-NAM States is happening in 196 mandis of 10 e-NAM States namely Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh & Uttarakhand.
e-NAM i.e National Agriculture Market is a pan-India electronic trading (e-trading) portal which seeks to network the existing physical regulated wholesale market (known as APMC market) through a virtual platform to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities. e-NAM platform promotes better marketing opportunities for the farmers to sell their produce through online, competitive and transparent price discovery system and online payment facility. It also promotes prices commensurate with quality of produce. The e-NAM portal provides a single window services for all APMC related information and services. This includes commodity arrivals, quality, prices, buy & sell offers & e-payment settlement directly into farmers’ account, among other services. Farmers can access the information on e-NAM easily through their mobile phones from anywhere. This online trading platform aims at reducing transaction costs, bridging information asymmetry and help in expanding the market access for farmers.
“Logistic providers” information is also being provided in the e-NAM portal to traders from outside the State, which will facilitate transportation of commodities after trading. An Inter-State dashboard on e-NAM platform has been developed to promote inter State trade among e-NAM States.