Cyber Mangoes

  Mangoes of all shapes, sizes and flavors, born and raised in various parts of South India, will be available for online-trading beginning this month, according to a report in the June 15th edition of the Hindu. The Safal National Exchange of India (SNX), which specializes in providing an online marketplace for perishable commodities, matches seller-farmers with prospective buyers allowing farmers to get a fair return on their produce. SNX also provides a counter-party guarantee with respect to all trades as well as arranging for quality certification, warehousing and logistics.

What’s exciting for any mango enthusiast who is familiar with India’s mangoes is that now, they will be more accessible to buyers across the globe in the myriad species that delight Indians every year.  No less important is the fact that the conscientious buyer can rest easy knowing that the farmers are getting a fair and competitive price. The India Times reported that the first day of trading saw 24 tons of mangoes traded followed by 16 tons on the next day. The mechanics are quite similar to any online trading system. Farmers set prices according to prevailing market conditions and the prices are displayed on the trading portal. Once a buyer finds a seller, the trade is complete and farmers receive their money within two days of the trade. The delivery deadline is set for the end of the following trading day. SNX seems to impose a 10% penalty for failure to execute on either the buyer or seller’s part.

What will be interesting to monitor is when online mango trading takes off on a global scale and foreign buyers seek enforcement of any unfulfilled contracts. SNX’s growth as a self-regulated organization with effective remedial procedures is vital to its sustained success.