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Pratim Ranjan Bose

Kolkata, Aug. 1 NCDEX Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) is planning to commence e-auction of maize (corn) in Bihar.

The centres selected so far for trading in are Katihar and Purnia bordering West Bengal and Begusarai in North Bihar. NSEL is a wholly owned subsidiary of NCDEX.

Parallel negotiation is on with the West Bengal State Marketing Board — the State Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) authority — for launching spot trading on sugar and potato in Kolkata and Hoogly districts respectively.

As a pilot project, NCDEX has sought permission from the marketing board to start delivery of sugar — sold through e-auction — in Kolkata. The city being a consumption hub, the Exchange does not expect to sell sugar from Kolkata to the rest of the country.

“Bihar has recently scrapped the APMC Act and we have secured approval from the State authorities for launching electronic spot trading of agri-commodities across the State,” Mr P.H. Ravikumar, CEO and Managing Director of NCDEX, told Business Line.

Elaborating on the project, company sources said that while there was no regulatory hurdle in launching spot trading, the company was now working on creation of trading logistics. “There is little warehousing capacity in the selected trading centres. We will launch the trading as soon as such capacities are created,” a source said.

On West Bengal, the sources said that NSEL is optimistic of launching spot trading of sugar and potato in the State. “Though the APMC Act is yet to be amended in Bengal, the existing law has provisions for promotion of such a market place. However, there are certain uncertainties regarding membership,” the source said.

When contacted a senior official of the State APMC authority told Business Line that NSEL may be granted approval for spot delivery of sugar in Kolkata.

On promotion of a full-fledged electronic market place for agri-commodities, the official said, “There is no legal or political hurdle in granting approvals for electronic trading leading to both export and import of agri-commodities from the State; we are yet to take a call on the issue.”

More Stories on : Commodity Exchanges | E-Commerce & E-Business | Foodgrains | Other States

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NCDEX arm gearing up for e-auction of maize in Bihar

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