By Nanda Kasabe
For the first time, auctions of raisins went online at the Sangli Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) in Maharashtra. Sangli is a key producing region for grapes and raisins in Maharashtra. The online auctions have commenced as part of the Centre’s ambitious eNAM project.
Sangli from Maharashtra was selected among the five APMCs across the country for the demo project to the PM, said Sunil Pawar, MD, Maharashtra State Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC). Sangli is known for the production of raisins and turmeric, he said, adding that Sangli has been selected for the first phase of the eNAM project. The region does a total trade of nearly Rs 500 crore in raisins annually, Pawar said, adding that around 25% of the auctioning at Sangli has gone online and an effort is now being made to familiarize both traders and farmers to get onto the electronic platform.
Maharashtra’s grape export is as high as two lakh tonne annually. Grape growers export it to the Netherlands, Germany and other European Union countries. Raisins’ export is also nearly 50,000 tonnes and demand for both the commodities is growing.More than 50,000 farmers are associated with raisin production in Sangli and the region gets raisins from Karnataka, Bijapur, Nagpur and border regions in the state.
Pawar pointed out that out of 60 Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMCs) in Maharashtra, 30 have switched to digital transactions and have begun e-auctions.
(This article first appeared on Financial Express Online on March 20, 2018)