Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Wednesday, Aug 22, 2007
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Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Wednesday, Aug 22, 2007 ePaper |
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Agri-Biz & Commodities
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Spices & Condiments Cardamom e-auction launch tomorrow
The advent of the e-auction would set a new trend in cardamom marketing as it is likely to bring in increased benefits to the farming community in terms of transparency.
Our Bureau New Delhi, Aug. 21 A new initiative of the Spices Board to ensure transparency in cardamom trading in the country for the benefit of small growers through the electronic auction (e-auction) system would be launched at Bodinayakanur in Tamil Nadu on August 23. An official release said the Minister of State for Commerce, Mr Jairam Ramesh, would launch the programme at Bodinayakanur as it accounts for 80 per cent of the traders in this commodity and 21 per cent of the total cardamom auctioned. Devised with the support of the Tata Consultancy Services, Bangalore in a bid to promote healthy competition for purchases, the Spices Board has proposed the introduction of e-auction in cardamom to revamp the extant manual operations at par with modern technologies. Proper and flawless documentation is done in e-auctions facilitating speedy billing/invoicing, thereby eliminating the chances for hidden costs. As the identity of the bidder is not revealed during the process of auction, the chances of speculation is scuppered. The moisture and bulk density of every lot offered for sale would be displayed on the main screen at the auction centre, which would help bidders to assess the quality. Common facilities
The board is planning to establish common cleaning / grading / packing facilities in association with auctioneers which would help the traders/bidders to sell the material bought in the auction to the buyers without further cleaning/ grading, thereby save time and costs. The advent of the e-auction would set a new trend in cardamom marketing since this is likely to bring in increased benefits to the farming community in terms of transparency that would curtail the formation of cartels, which is the bane of the current system. Cardamom is the mainstay crop for many thousands of farmers in Kerala (75 per cent), Karnataka (15 per cent) and Tamil Nadu (10 per cent), spread over the Western Ghats. The volume of business in the auction centres in 2006-07 was 7,939 tonnes and the average price realised at the auction centres is Rs 313.02 per kg last year. Kerala accounts for the maximum quantity of cardamom auctioned, followed by Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra. In 2006-07, total production of cardamom (small) was 11,535 tonnes of which 7,939 tonne was auctioned. Out the estimated 40,500 number of farmers involved in the production of cardamom, nearly 27,000 sell their produce through the auction system. Export of cardamom last fiscal was 650 tonnes. The board would introduce e-auctions in the other four major auction centres of Vandanmedu, Kumili, Thekkady and Pulianmala in Idukki district of Kerala soon based on the performance of Bodinayakanur.
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