NCDEX SPOT ties up with PNB to provide credit to farmers

We will work with PNB to deepen the reach of the bank in agricultural commodity finance, says NCDEX Spot Executive Vice President Rajesh Sinha

NCDEX Spot Exchange has tied up with state-run Punjab National Bank to provide credit to farmers, processors and market participants.

With this association, depositors of exchange-accredited warehouses will be able to avail loan against their produce from the bank, NCDEX Spot Exchange, the e-spot exchange and only e-marketplace for farmers in the country, said in a release.

"This initiative will bring in transparency, efficiency and economy in the lending operation. This will mainly benefit farmers, small traders and SMEs and provide a boost to agricultural producers and SMEs," PNB General Manager-SME and Retail Asset Division S S Bhatia said here.

"We will work with PNB to deepen the reach of the bank in agricultural commodity finance," NCDEX Spot Executive Vice President Rajesh Sinha said.

The members of NCDEX Spot would get yet another alternative to obtain credit and sell his produce at a later date. This will help farmers avoid hurried up sales at the peak supply season. The company is in talks with other banking and financial institutions having interest in agri-commodity funding.

With this agreement, the bank will get wider reach to the farmers, processors and traders trading on NSPOT. NSPOT delivered more than 500,000 MT of Agri commodities on its platform last year. It has more than 960 registered members and more than 3000 Mandi participants.

The NSPOT growth has been led by a phenomenal growth in its customer base and its ever widening presence across India. NSPOT offers its contracts mainly in primary and secondary marketplaces.