The Hindu Business Line : NMCE plans to expand replicating `Kerala model' trading

Future perfect?
In talks with the Rajasthan government to amend APMC Act.
PNB to finance growers against warehouse receipts and NMCE forward sales contract.

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Kochi Feb. 5 Encouraged by the success of online trading in commodities in Kerala in the last four years, the National Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (NMCE) is planning to replicate the `Kerala model' in rest of the country.

The Kerala model is unique in the sense that it is a heady mix of growers, traders, brokers, investors, processors and exporter-importer comprising both small and big players hailing from urban centres as well as from remote rural areas, Mr Kailash Gupta, Managing Director of NMCE, said at a press meet.

The Kerala model had been appreciated even by the regulator, Forward Marketing Commission, he said.

Though NMCE had rolled out the first transparent trading platform for commodities with a nation-wide reach in 2002, he said the members of NMCE in Kerala had seized the opportunity to get the maximum advantage.

Kerala, he said, had helped NMCE improve upon and prefect the national benchmark it had set up earlier in the final settlement of all outstanding

contracts at the time of expiry through Central Warehousing Corporation receipt system. The NMCE trading system has attracted huge investment from other States on produces grown in Kerala and it has also provided the growers and

consumers in the State an opportunity to trade in commodities produced in other States.

PNB to finance

Punjab National Bank has formulated a unique scheme of financing growers in Kerala up to 90 per cent at an 9 per cent interest rate per annum against CWC warehouse receipts accompanied with forward sale contract of NMCE.

According to Mr Gupta, the CWC warehouses in the State had received record stocks of 10,535 tonnes of rubber and 6,727 tonnes of pepper on the NMCE account as on today, as additional storage space is being created in all CWC designated warehouses, hiring new godowns to cater to unexpected piling of stocks.

The total warehouse receipts in rubber, pepper and cardamom issued by CWC were 54,846, out of these 37,292 warehouse receipts had been delivered. There was not even a single instant were there had been any fault in weight or quality, Mr Gupta said.

NMCE also had plans to start spot exchanges, which would be implemented

first in Rajasthan. The exchange is pursuing with the State Government there to make certain amendments in the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee Act prior to the setting up of spot exchange, he added.