An APMC, or Agricultural Produce Market Committee, is a state-regulated wholesale market, often called a mandi. Farmers bring crops there and sell through licensed commission agents, usually by open auction.
The APMC matters to you because its daily arrivals and auction prices set the local reference price. Processors buy raw material there, then clean, grade and pack it. Your export price starts from that auction price.
How an APMC works
Rules, fees and commission differ between states and markets. Ask your supplier how the market they buy from works.
- Farmers bring their crop to the market yard, in bags or loose in trucks and tractors.
- A licensed commission agent displays the lot and handles the sale for the farmer.
- Buyers, mostly processors and traders, inspect the lot and bid in open auction.
- The market records arrivals and prices, and market fees apply to the trade.
- The buyer takes the raw lot to a plant for cleaning, grading and packing.
Why arrivals move prices
Arrivals are the quantity that reaches the market each day. In the weeks after harvest, arrivals are high and prices often soften. Later in the year, when farmers hold back stock or the crop runs down, arrivals fall and prices can rise.
For winter crops such as cumin, fennel and psyllium, arrivals usually peak around March to April. Traders watch the first arrivals closely for early signs of crop size and quality.
Some crops also have futures. Cumin and coriander futures have traded on NCDEX, India's agri commodity exchange, and traders watch them as a signal. For the full picture, see how agri commodity prices are set in India.
How the auction price becomes your price
The auction price is for raw, uncleaned crop in the yard. Your price adds every step between that and an export-ready bag.
- Cleaning loss: dust, stones, stalks and light seed are removed, so more raw crop is needed per tonne of clean product.
- Processing: machine cleaning, colour sorting, steam sterilisation or grinding, if your spec needs them.
- Packing: bags, liners, labels and pallets.
- Testing, transport to port, export clearance and documents.
- The processor's margin, and a trader's margin if there is one.
What this means for buying
Two quotes on the same day can differ a lot. The spec, the cleaning level and the number of hands in the chain all change the result.
Ask your supplier which market they buy from and how the recent auction trend looks. A good processor will tell you whether arrivals are strong and how the new crop looks. Use that to time your bookings, and see why Indian spice prices change so much from season to season.
Expect export quotes to follow the market with a lag. When auction prices rise sharply, a processor holding stock bought earlier may still quote close to the old level for a short time. When prices fall, the same stock can keep quotes high. Asking what stock a quote is based on helps you read it.
How we help
Creston & Co follows market arrivals and auction trends for the products our buyers take, and explains what is moving the price. We negotiate with processors on your behalf and book seasonal prices when the timing suits. Ask for a free sourcing review.