The Sahyadri Farmer Producer Company based in Mohadi village in Nasik’s Dindori taluka will soon be launching its first-ever ‘private market’ for grapes, across the nation. Both traders and farmers will be benefitted by the digital and physical market and however it will also receive more transparency in the trade of commodities and will be allowed for better price realisation.
Sahyadri is one of the largest exporters of grapes in the country. The company is entirely run by farmers and is an important player in tomato and resins and supplies tomato puree to other brands of ketchup manufacturers. Brands like Histundan lever also use the company’s resources to bottle ketchups. Moreover, the company also exports nearly 18,000 tonnes of fresh grapes annually mostly to the European and Middle-East markets.
The Sahyadri Farms Post Harvest Care (SFPHCL) and the subsidiary of Sahyadri Farmer Producer Company (FPC) has also become India’s first FPC subsidiary to raise growth capital of ₹310 crore overseas. The investors include Incofin, Korys, FMO, and Proparco.
Venturing into the field of private markets
The decision to proceed into the field of private markets was taken to plug the present gap in the marketing of grapes and tomato. Also, grapes which are considered as highly perishable commodities are traded at farm gate where the traders deal with the farmers directly. It also cuts out the logistic costs of transportation and the lack of safety net that leaves the risk of them being defrauded.
The growers of Grape in Nasik reports nearly Rs 10-15 crore of loss after the traders have vanished without the trace of post paying for the entire consignments. Lack of accountability is seen on the traders part is mostly because of any systems of tracking them by a third party. However, the Agricultural Produce Marketing committees issue licences to the traders and get a hold of bank securities which are invoked in case the trader fails to pay the farmer on time.
Moreover, the hybrid platform will also ease the trade as the traders can seal deals on the online platform and offline. The market will be seen using a cold storage facility to provide help to the farmers to store their produce in case they are despondent with the price being commanded.
Read More: RuKart: A cool idea that’s helping marginal farmers
