The National Collateral Management Services Limited (NCML), a leading warehousing services provider, has launched an online platform Mktyard.com for trading in warehouse receipts. The portal is operated by NCML MktYard, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NCML.

The platform is equipped with modern IT solutions that help commodity market participants to buy or sell commodities without hassle and create a tradable liquid Warehouse Receipt based e-marketplace. It connects the buyers and sellers and facilitates price discovery and eliminates price risk. Buyers can also avail loan offered by banks for purchasing commodity on the platform.

Further, the platform directly connects clients and their stock in warehouses and collateral management locations through the e-market link. The solution completes the full cycle of procurement via reverse-auction or e-procurement, trading of stocks via forward auctions and transforms the market dynamics by drastically reducing the timelines and risk of such transactions, said NCML in a statement on Tuesday.

Sanjay Kaul , Managing Director, NCML, said the agricultural and commodity space is likely to see several transformative changes in agriculture logistics, supply chain and marketing with private sector players leading the way.

PTI adds: The country’s wheat output could drop by 2.31 per cent to 96.1 million tonnes (mt) in the 2017-18 crop year (July-June) due to shift in the area to other crops, NCML said.

“Contrary to the government’s speculation of wheat crossing 100 million tonnes, NCML forecasts the 2017-18 wheat crop at 96.1 million tonnes,” the firm said in a statement.

The reason is around 4 per cent lower wheat area sown as the farmers shifted to other crops, majorly chana, it said. Even soyabean production is estimated to decline sharply to 9.15 mt (13.79 mt). Rapeseed-mustard seed output is pegged lower at 7.64 mt (7.97 mt). However, production of rice is likely to increase to 14.5 mt in the rabi season of this year as against 13.76 mt in the year-ago.

In case of pulses, gram (chana) output is pegged higher at 9.71 mt (9.33 mt). NCML sees cotton output at 36.5 million bales (33 million bales).