With more states opening up or facilitating trade of agricultural commodities on the government’s electronic – National Agriculture Market (e-NAM), trade on the pan-India digital wholesale platform crossed Rs 23,523 crore during April-July of FY25, up 13% on year.
Sources told FE that there has also been a significant spike in inter-mandi and inter-state trading of agri-commodities on the digital platform, which currently integrates 1389 mandis across 27 states
In the last five years, trade on the digital wholesale market run by the agriculture ministry has increased by 124% last fiscal from Rs 34,940 crore in 2019-20. The platform reported sales of Rs 78,424 crore in FY24.
The agriculture ministry has urged states to relax norms including allowing traders from outside to buy and sell commodities without bank guarantee, provisioning of unified license for seamless statewide trade access and procurement from farm gate.
Officials said that while the volume of farm gate, inter-state and inter-mandi trade is still a small portion of total turnover of e-NAM, it indicates a gradual shift to the digital platform, being used for better price discovery by the farmers.
“Our focus has been on increasing electronic-payments to farmers and boosting inter-mandi and inter-state trade on e-NAM,” an official told FE
In first four months of FY25, there has been a 29% spike in inter-mandi trade on e-NAM to Rs 580 croe on year. In terms of inter-state trade, which commenced last fiscal, continue to surge this fiscal as well.
The total traded value of commodities on the digital platform April-July of 2024-25 using the farmgate model has been Rs 18 crore compared to a spike of 108% on year.
Farmers in several states — Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir have started to sell commodities on e-NAM using the farm-gate model since last fiscal.
Mandis integrated into the digital platform since its launch in April 2016, are in 27 states and Union Territories including Tamil Nadu (157), Rajasthan (145), Gujarat (144), Maharashtra (133), Uttar Pradesh (125) and Haryana (108).
Agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has recently announced that over 1,500 more mandis will be integrated with the e-NAM platform.
In addition, 4009 farmer producers Organisations, 0.25 million traders and around 0.11 million commission agents are registered with e-NAM.
The e-NAM platform currently allows online trading in 219 agricultural, horticultural and other commodities notified by respective state governments. The agriculture ministry has urged all the central agencies such as Food Corporation of India, farmers’ cooperative NAFED and others engaged in procurement and selling of grain, pulses and other agricultural produce to use the platform for better price discovery.
Sources said there are estimated to be around 7000 mandis in the country and after the recommendation from mandi boards of respective states, the marketplace for agricultural produce comes on board of e-NAM.