Spices Board to resume e-auction at Spices Park in Puttady

The Spices Board will resume e-auction of small cardamom at the Spices Park in Puttady in Idukki district in February after completion of much-needed maintenance operations and technical upgrades.
The cardamom e-auctions at Puttady have been temporarily shifted to the facility at Bodinayakanur in Tamil Nadu to prevent disruption of the trade while maintenance is underway.
It would require a month's time for the upgrades and once the advanced systems are in place, the e-auction at Puttady will resume in full swing, a Spices Board release said today.
The Spices Board had set up electronic auction centres in Bodinayakanur and Puttady in 2007 to increase transparency, streamline the process and avoid problems associated with traditional manual outcry auction system.

The new e-auction system was well-received by both the growers and dealers and has since then been functioning expeditiously, with currently 12 auctions conducted per week in both the centers.
The Spices Board oversees the auctions at these centres and is in charge of maintaining the e-auction software, bidding terminals, network and servers for the system.

In 2016, the Board modernised the centre at Bodinayakanur by establishing a new building and setting up enhanced e-auction terminals and computer network with the latest version of software.
However, the same could not be done for Puttady lately because of the regular and tight auction schedules.

Though the two centres use the same e-auction software, the system suffered repeated breakdowns in Puttady due to the aging bidder terminals and computer network that needed urgent replacement.
Being run in a real time environment, a gradual or piecemeal rectification is not an ideal solution and hence complete shutdown of the e-auction system at Puttady has been necessitated until the upgrade is completed, the release said.
The Board is also introducing live streaming of e-auction in both Puttady and Bodianayakanur through its website,so more stakeholders from around the world can witness the process.
The Board said it has requested the whole-hearted support and co-operation from stakeholders of the cardamom trade, so that the upgrade of the e-auction system can be completed and the auction process can be commenced at Spices Park Puttady within the specified time.