e-NAM turnover might surpass Rs 1 trillion

With an increased participation of farmers, traders, and FPOS (Farmer Producer Organizations) in the electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM), the digital trading platform launched in 2016 is poised to exceed Rs 1 trillion in trade turnover during the ongoing fiscal year, compared to Rs 74,656 crore in the previous fiscal 2022-23.

During the April-July period of the current fiscal, there has been an impressive 287% surge in inter-mandi trade on the e-NAM platform, totaling Rs 449 crore, as compared to the same period in the previous fiscal. Notably, the e-NAM platform presently enables online trading for 209 agricultural, horticultural, and other commodities as notified by respective state governments. Since its inception seven years ago, the e-NAM platform has facilitated trade worth Rs. 2.79 trillion. However, this value still falls short of the estimated total trade in agricultural commodities (excluding milk and marine products) in the country, which is around Rs 6 trillion

To further enhance accessibility for farmers, the agriculture ministry has granted approval for the integration of 25 new mandis with the e-NAM platform, enabling farmers to digitally sell their produce. These new mandis are located in Maharashtra (15), Jammu and Kashmir (6), and Uttarakhand (4), expanding the total number of integrated mandis to 1386.

The gradual shift towards the digital platform is evident through inter-mandi trade, accounting for Rs 20,926 crore during April-July of the ongoing fiscal year, despite being a small fraction of the total e-NAM turnover. This transition is instrumental in aiding farmers' price discovery process and is supported by inter-state trade activity involving commodities like potatoes, apples, mustard, ragi, silk cocoon, chana, soybean, and jeera.

Content source: Media reports