Trading at Asia’s biggest chilli yard continued to be affected as traders and commission agents show defiance to the State government’s orders to do trading through Electronic National Agricultural Marketing (e-nam) trading portal on the premises of the market yard.
The State government has taken a decision to implement the new initiative across all market committees from September 1. But the commission agents continue to stall trading citing difficulties in implementing the online system.
The pan-India electronic trading portal networks the existing market committees to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities. It also provides a single window service for all market committee related information and services, including commodity arrivals and prices, buying and selling trade offers, provision to respond to trade offers, among other services.
Aimed at reducing transaction cost, the online trading is being fiercely opposed by local commission agents, who anticipate a cut in commission. The commission agent continues to be a vital cog in trading at the chilli yard. From offering credit to farmers to finding the buyer for the produce, the commission agent continues to maintain a close contact with local farmers.
‘Not practical’
“We fear that the e-nam system will be not practical. The commission agents not only offer credit to farmers before they sow the crop, but also pay them the same day they sell the produce. They also offer guarantee on the stock stored in cold storages,” said Santhosh Reddy, a commission agent.
But market committee chairman Mannava Subba Rao said that e-nam system would be implemented at any cost and warned the commission agents against disrupting the smooth functioning of the system, which has been designed to do away with middlemen.
Marketing Commissioner Samuel Ananda Kumar has even warned that employees at the market yard who do not implement the system, could go on leave, if they not comply with the orders.
