Sugartrade offers Web-based interactive forum for sugar manufacturers, traders and brokers. It is owned and maintained by e-commodities Limited. Membership is free currently and includes privileges like live sugar prices across India; alerts and news flashes on members' mobile phones (in due course) and WAP access using WAP-enabled cellular phones (also coming soon).

Talking about the vortal and how it evolved, Paritosh Joshi (a member of the site management team) said Balrampur Chini provided the seed capital for the venture and the director-general of Indian Sugar Mills Association, SL Jain, roped in the other big names from the sugar industry.

By the end of the current year, e-commodities plans to offer a secure, Web-based sugar trading platform for registered trading members including end-to-end services such as logistics, insurance and a full payment gateway.

Every activity associated with the sugar trade like auctions, reverse auctions, tendering, dynamic order matching among others will be available online with the objective of achieving "breakthrough cost" and productivity benefits for users.

In short, the vortal intends to provide a structured marketplace for the industry which has long worked in a constricted, straitjacket market, sources pointed out. It opens up avenues for marketing the 8-10 million tonnes sugar inventory which will be available by the end of the current sugar season, they added.