e-NAM Sees 260% Rise In Inter-mandi Trade In April-Oct

New Delhi, Nov 6 (KNN) The National Agriculture Market (eNAM) platform witnessed a 260 per cent annual spike in the inter-mandi trade in the April-October period of the current fiscal, reported FE.

With more states opening up or facilitating trade of agricultural commodities on digital wholesale agri-marketing platform, the inter-mandi trade on e-NAM reached Rs 785 crore.

An agriculture ministry official said while the volume of inter-mandi trade is still a small portion of total turnover of e-NAM at Rs 37,000 crore in April-October (2023-24), it indicates a gradual shift to the digital platform, being used for better price discovery by the farmers. 

On Saturday the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF) purchased onion from farmers in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh using e-NAM platform for the first time. Similarly turmeric was sold for the first time at Nizamabad mandi, Telangana using the online platform to an institutional buyer in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.

An official told FE that following the request from the power ministry requesting biomass derived from paddy stubble/ crop residue to be traded on the pan India digital platform, the item has been added to the list of trade commodities on the e-NAM. The trial trade of ‘raw biomass (agro-residue)’ was carried out using e-NAM in the Ambala Mandi.

The Agriculture Ministry emphasizes that e-NAM, as the only digital platform without user charges on transactions, urges central agencies like the Food Corporation of India and farmers' cooperative NAFED to utilize it for improved price discovery in their procurement and sales of grain, pulses, and other agricultural products.

The e-NAM platform presently facilitates online trading for 209 agricultural, horticultural, and other commodities as designated by state governments.

At present, 1,361 mandis in 27 states and Union Territories are integrated with the e-NAM platform. Also, 17.64 million farmers, 3284 FPOs, 0.24 million traders and around 0.11 million commission agents are registered with e-NAM.

(KNN Bureau)