The Spices Board India has clarified that cardamom producers can sell their produce directly to dealers licensed by the board.
The decision, taken at a board meeting, said growers could sell their produce directly to dealers or through e-auctions conducted by auctioneers licensed by the board.
Moreover, dealers could sell the cardamom in any manner and did not have to route the same through the auction centres.
Jayathilak, Chairman, Spices Board India, said the board was committed to promoting free trade in small cardamom and was in the process of exploring all avenues for facilitating the opening of alternate marketing channels for small cardamom.
The earlier practice of depending on e-auctions as the primary channel for the cardamom trade sometimes proved to be a restrictive trade practice, limiting the grower’s right to sell his produce at his will and desire.
In the current scenario where the terms of commerce were governed by the principles of the open market and free trade, even in the international arena, routing the entire produce through e-auctions could create a bottleneck in the small cardamom value chain.
The decision is expected to attract more players to the small cardamom trade and may result in better price realisation for the grower though increased sales transactions and buyer participation, he said.