An analysis of e-trading in India

Introduction

Electronic trading (e-trading) refers to the buying and selling of goods and services through online platforms using the internet and digital technologies. It first emerged in the financial sector with computerized trading systems and later expanded to other sectors due to advancements in information and communication technology (ICT). The growth of e-commerce during the 1990s further promoted etrading by improving transparency, reducing transaction costs and enabling faster exchange of market information (Kotler and Keller, 2012) [10] . The success of e-trading in financial and commercial sectors encouraged its adoption in agricultural marketing systems. Agricultural commodity marketing serves as a key link between the farm sector and the broader economy by enabling the efficient transfer of produce from farmers to consumers. It provides a structured system where buyers and sellers interact, making agricultural markets essential platforms for trade. However, the stakeholders in the agricultural marketing system often have differing interests, leading to price distortions and unequal distribution of market power, thereby reducing market efficiency (Acharya S. S. & Agarwal N. L., 2011) [1] . To protect the farmers from malpractice and ensure fair trade practices, state governments in India introduced the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Acts from the 1950s onwards. The regulations were implemented to provide farmers with remunerative prices, ensure the smooth flow of reliable market information, enforce standardized rules and procedures, reduce market uncertainties, and enhance the overall efficiency of the agricultural marketing system (Singh et al. 2022; Kumar et al. 2024) [16,9] . Inspite of government efforts, still the agricultural marketing system in India has been marked by several inefficiencies such as fragmented markets, the dominance of intermediaries, lack of transparency, and limited access to competitive pricing. These factors have adversely affected farmers' income and bargaining power, often resulting in lower returns for their produce, leads to overall inefficiencies in the marketing process (Chand, 2016; Reddy 2018; Swain et al., 2022; Jabeen et al. 2024) [4,14,17,7] . To overcome these challenges and modernize agricultural marketing, the integration of digital www.extensionjournal.com technologies into agricultural trade became necessary. The use of e-trading in agriculture emerged as an important reform to improve market efficiency, transparency, and price discovery mechanisms. Electronic agricultural trading platforms facilitate online bidding, electronic payments, quality-based trading, and wider market access for farmers. These systems help in reducing the role of intermediaries and enable farmers to access a larger number of buyers beyond local markets. According to Chand (2016) [4] , etrading enhances competition among buyers and improves price realization for farmers by integrating agricultural markets through digital platforms. As part of the reform, the Government of India introduced e-trading through the electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) platform on 14 th April 2016, a digital initiative to integrate the country's wholesale markets (APMCs) into a unified online platform (Bisen and Kumar, 2018) [3] . The National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) was entirely funded by the Central Government and is carried out by the Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The concept behind the e-Platform for the National Agricultural Market (e-NAM) originated with the unified online agricultural market, but it was a physical market at the back end. The primary objective of e-NAM is to facilitate transparent price discovery based on the demand and quality of the produce, promote competitive online bidding, reduce the role of middlemen, information asymmetry and expand market access for farmers beyond their local mandis, ensuring instant online payment (Chand, 2016; NITI Aayog, 2020) [4,11] . It also provides all the information on prices, arrivals and trade offers for available commodities. By enabling these activities, e-NAM can strengthen marketing efficiency, potentially increases the farmers income through fair prices for their produce. The implementation of the e-NAM also represents a significant step towards the digital transformation of agricultural marketing in India. It supports the vision of "One Nation, One Market" by promoting interstate and inter-mandi trade, thereby reducing regional disparities in agricultural markets. In India, during the launch of e-NAM in 2016, 21 APMCs from eight states were linked to the e-NAM portal. Since its inception, e-NAM has expanded considerably in terms of markets coverage and stakeholder participation. Currently, in 2025, a total of 1,522 APMCS have been integrated under e-NAM across 23 states and 4 UTs, serving 179.41 lakh farmers, 2.67 lakh traders, 1.16 lakh commission agents, 4,518 FPOs, and 79 service providers, indicating its growing adoption across the country (Parmar and Bansal, 2025) [13] . The platform has also facilitated the trading of a wide range of agricultural commodities and contributed to increased transparency and efficiency in the marketing process. In this context, the present study was undertaken to assess the etrading through the e-NAM platform in India across different states, to know the overall growth of e-trading, including markets and commodities covered under etrading, variation in participation of different stakeholders, and growth in trading of the agricultural commodities.

Methodology

The present study was based on secondary data collected from the official e-trading portal, SFAC annual reports, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare annual reports to analyse the e-trading through the e-NAM platform in India. The data included information on the number of APMCs and mandis integrated under e-NAM, commodities traded, stakeholder participation, such as the number of registered farmers, traders, commission agents, and Farmer-Producer Organizations (FPOs), and the volume and value of agricultural commodities traded from 2016-17 to 2024-25, along with inter-mandi and inter-state trade data from 2019-20 to 2024-25. Descriptive statistical techniques, such as averages, percentages, and the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR), were employed to analyse the collected data.

Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)

To analyse growth trends in the volume and value of quantity traded in e-trading (e-NAM), the compounded annual growth rates were worked out for the period 2016-17 to 2024-25 using the following formula. The compound growth rates were calculated by using the formula CGR (%) = r × 100 Where, Y t = volume of quantity traded, value of quantity traded t, t = Time variable, a = Constant, u = error term, ln b = Regression coefficient of time, r = CGR The significance of these compound growth rates was tested at 1 per cent, 5 per cent, and 10 per cent levels of significance.

Results and Discussion

The distribution of state-wise markets covered under etrading through the National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) platform from 2016 to 2025 is presented in Table 1 and Fig. The results found that the Tripura state has the highest number of markets 19 out of 21 covered under e-trading through the e-NAM platform, accounting for 90.48 per cent, followed by Gao 7 out of 8 markets, accounting for 87.50 per cent and in Tamil Nadu 213 out of 288 accounting for 73.96 per cent of total markets. The 38 markets out of 71 in Himachal Pradesh (53.52%), 173 out of 443 in Rajasthan (38.79%), 108 out of 296 in Haryana (36.49%), 144 out of 415 in Gujarat (34.70%), and 20 out of 62 in Uttarakhand (32.26%) showed moderate levels of adoption. In Uttar Pradesh 162 out of 633 markets accounting for 25.59 per cent, 139 out of 556 in Madhya Pradesh (25.00%), 57 out of 284 in Telangana (20.07%), 79 out of 437 in Punjab 18.08%, 19 out of 114 in Nagaland (16.67%), 133 out of 929 in Maharashtra (14.32%), 66 out of 535 in Odisha (12.34%), 20 out of 190 in Chhattisgarh (10.53%) and 33 out of 323 in Andhra Pradesh (10.19%) exhibited relatively lower coverage. The lowest levels of coverage of markets were observed in 19 markets out of 201 in Jharkhand, accounting for 9.45 per cent, 18 out of 537 in West Bengal (3.35%), 3 out of 226 in Assam (1.33%) and 5 out of 527 in Karnataka (0.95%). In case of Union Territories complete coverage of markets was observed in Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Chandigarh, 100.0 per cent each, whereas in Jammu and Kashmir 17 markets out of 25 accounting for 68.0 per cent, and 2 markets out of 8 in Puducherry accounting for 25.0 per cent. The Electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) enables the trading of a wide variety of agricultural commodities across integrated markets in India and the commodities are broadly classified. The category-wise distribution of commodities traded under e-trading through the e-NAM platform across different markets are presented in Table 2. From 2016-17 to 2024-25, a total of 11.47 crore metric tonnes of all agricultural commodities were traded through the e-NAM platform, with a total trade value of Rs 4.20 lakh crore. According to the study by Arpitha et al. (2025) [2] , there has been a substantial upward trend in commodity-wise trading volume on the e-NAM platform. It is observed that from 2016 to 2025, 247 commodities were traded under the e-NAM platform, out of which the vegetables (59) found to be maximum number of commodities traded, accounting for 23.89 per cent followed by 48 types of commodities in fruits (19.43%), 38 in food Grains/Cereals (15.38%), 17 in spices (6.88%), 14 in oilseeds (5.67%) and other 71 commodities which are not under the above categories accounting for 28.74 per cent. Similar results were reported by Rede and Ingle (2021) [15] and Nimbrayan et al. (2024) [12] .

Category-wise (commodities) traded under e-trading through the e-NAM platform

Participation of Stakeholders under e-trading through the e-NAM platform in India

In the e-trading system, various stakeholders perform specific roles that collectively contribute to the efficient functioning of agricultural markets. Farmers play the primary role as producers by bringing their agricultural produce to the market for sale and benefiting from better price discovery through e-trading platforms. Traders participate in the buying process by bidding for produce, thereby ensuring competition and efficient price determination. Commission agents act as intermediaries who facilitate transactions between farmers and traders, assist in documentation and provide market-related support services. Farmer-Producer Organizations (FPOs) help aggregate produce from farmers, strengthen their bargaining power, and enable better access to markets and e-trading platforms. Market officials are responsible for regulating market activities, supervising transactions, maintaining transparency, and ensuring the smooth functioning of etrading operations. The stakeholders must be registered under e-trading for trading purposes. The distribution of state-wise registered different stakeholders' participation is represented in Table 3 and Figure 2.

State-wise participation of farmers under e-trading

The state-wise participation of farmers under e-trading through the e-NAM platform were presented in the table 3. The results revealed that, as on 2025, a total of 179.42 lakh farmers were registered and participated in the e-NAM system. Out of that, Uttar Pradesh state was found to have the highest participation with 33.05 lakh farmers, accounting for 18.42 per cent of the total, followed by 30.25 lakh of farmers in Madhya Pradesh (16.86%), 27.27 lakh of farmers in Haryana (15.20%) and 18.24 lakh farmers in Telangana (10.17%), indicating substantial progress in the adoption of e-NAM scheme. The moderate level of 15.48 lakh farmer participation was observed in Rajasthan (8.63%), followed by 14.54 lakh farmers in Andhra Pradesh (8.11%), 12.42 lakh farmers in Maharashtra (6.92%), 8.70 lakh farmers in Gujarat (4.85%), 4.67 lakh farmers in Tamil Nadu (2.60%), 4.57 lakh farmers in Odisha (2.55%). Jharkhand and Punjab show relatively lower participation, with 2.67 lakh farmers accounting for 1.49 per cent and 2.18 lakh farmers accounting for 1.21 per cent, respectively. Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh contribute 1.36 lakh farmers (0.76%) and 1.26 lakh farmers (0.70%), respectively. In West Bengal 0.99 lakh farmers participated, accounting for 0.55 per cent of the total. The remaining states and four Union Territories in the country together constitute 1.75 lakh farmers participated, accounting for 0.98 per cent, reflecting relatively low participation and similar results were reported by Jainuddin et al. 2025 [8] . Overall, the findings indicate that farmer participation in etrading is concentrated in a few leading states, while several states continue to show lower adoption levels, emphasizing the need for further expansion and strengthened awareness initiatives.

State-wise participation of traders under e-trading

The state-wise distribution of registered traders' participation under e-trading through the e-NAM platform were presented in the table 3. The results revealed that, as on 2025, a total of 2.68 lakh traders were registered under the e-NAM platform. Out of that, Rajasthan found to have the highest participation with 86,873 traders, accounting for 32.45 per cent of the total, followed by 40,090 traders in Uttar Pradesh ( [6] .

State-wise participation of commission agents under etrading

The state-wise participation of registered commission agents under e-trading through the e-NAM platform was presented in Table 3. The results found that, as on 2025, a total of 1.16 lakh commission agents were registered on the e-trading (e-NAM) platform. Out of that, 30,486 commission agents in Haryana was found to have the highest participation, accounting for 26.27 per cent followed by 27,618 in Rajasthan (23.80%), 18,368 in Maharashtra (15.83%), 10,856 in Punjab (9.36%), 8,574 in Uttar Pradesh (7.39%), 7,189 in Gujarat (6.20%), 5,161 in Telangana (4.45%), 2,721 in Uttarakhand (2.34%), 2,364 in Andhra Pradesh (2.04%), 1,159 in Himachal Pradesh (1.00%), 847 in Karnataka (0.73%), 255 in Chhattisgarh (0.22%), 200 in Jammu and Kashmir (0.17%), 119 in Chandigarh (0.10%) and 125 in West Bengal (0.11%). Overall, the findings indicate that commission agents' participation in e-NAM was limited to 13 states and 2 Union Territories in the country and there was less participation as compared with traders.

State-wise participation of FPOs under e-trading

The state-wise FPOs participation under e-trading through the e-NAM was presented in the table 3. The results observed that, as on 2025, a total of 4,518 FPOs were registered under the e-NAM platform. Out of that, 511 FPOs registered in Odisha accounting for 11.14 per cent were www.extensionjournal.com found to have the highest participation, followed by 399 in Uttar Pradesh (8.69%), 355 in Maharashtra (7.74%), 350 in Rajasthan (7.63%), 329 in West Bengal (7.17%), 324 in Andhra Pradesh (7.06%), 288 in Gujarat (6.28%), 283 in Tamil Nadu (6.17%), 269 in Haryana (5.86%), 240 in Jharkhand (5.23%), 225 in Bihar (4.90%), 224 in Madhya Pradesh (4.88%) and 208 in Telangana (4.53%). Further, it was also found that 128 FPOs in Jammu and Kashmir (2.79%), 116 in Uttarakhand (2.53%), 99 in Himachal Pradesh (2.16%), 66 in Assam (1.44%), 58 in Chhattisgarh (1.26%), 48 in Kerala (1.05%) and 30 in Karnataka (0.65%). The remaining states and Union Territories together 39 FPOs, accounting for 1.00 per cent. Overall, the findings indicate that FPO participation under e-NAM is fairly distributed across several states, though a few states account for a relatively higher share, while others show comparatively lower participation levels than other stakeholders. The study also further observed that Uttar Pradesh state was found to have the highest participation of total stakeholders 33.54 lakh, accounting for 18.30 per cent, followed by 30.51 lakh stakeholders in Madhya Pradesh (16.65%), 27.76 lakh in Haryana (15.14%). 18.36 lakh in Telangana (10.01%), 16.63 lakh in Rajasthan (9.07%), 14.61 lakh in Andhra Pradesh (7.97%), 12.84 lakh in Maharashtra (7.00%), 8.88 lakh in Gujarat (4.84%), 4.80 lakh in Tamil Nadu (2.62%), 4.68 lakh in Odisha (2.55%). The remaining states and Union Territories contributed relatively smaller shares to the total stakeholder participation. The overall findings revealed that 183.30 lakh stakeholders participated in e-trading through the e-NAM platform, out of which 179.4 lakh of farmers (97.87%) was found to have the highest participation for trading their produce, followed by 26.8 lakh traders (1.46%), 11.60 lakh commission agents (0.63%), and 4,589 FPOs (0.02%). The distribution of participation of stakeholders indicates that states such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana represent a substantial share among all the states in the country, while other states and Union Territories exhibit relatively low participation levels. This indicates that although farmers constitute the main participants under this platform, the participation of other stakeholders is relatively lower and varies across regions. Therefore, improving awareness, strengthening institutional support, and encouraging balanced participation across all stakeholder groups are essential to enhance the effectiveness of the e-NAM system.

Volume and value of agricultural commodities e-trading (e-NAM) in India

The growth trends in the volume and value of all agricultural commodities traded under e-trading through the National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) platform across all states in India from 2016-17 to 2024-25 were presented in the table 4. It is observed that the volume of quantity traded was increased from 0.55 Cr MT in 2016-17 to 2.04 Cr MT in 2024-25. Similarly, the value of quantity traded was also increased from 0.14 lakh Cr in 2016-17 to 4.20 lakh Cr in 2024-25. The growth rates of volume and value of quantity traded through the e-NAM platform in India were found to be 16.40 and 23.87 per cent, respectively, and were positive and highly significant at the one per cent level. This indicates a substantial and consistent increase in both the volume of commodities traded and the overall monetary value of transactions carried out through this platform during study period. Thus, it was concluded that both the volume and value of agricultural commodities traded through this platform have shown strong, statistically significant growth over the period, reflecting the effective expansion and adoption of e-NAM at the national level. The volume and value of all agricultural commodities traded through the e-NAM are shown in fig 3.

Details of inter-mandi and inter-state trade under etrading (e-NAM) in India

Inter-mandi and inter-state trade through the e-NAM platform was an important component in achieving the broader objectives of agricultural e-trading in India. Intermandi trade refers to the trading of agricultural commodities between different mandis within the same state through the e-NAM platform. Whereas, inter-state trade refers to the exchange of agricultural commodities between mandis located in different states through the e-NAM platform. Therefore, this inter-mandi and inter-state trade enhances competition, improve price discovery, reduced the need for intermediaries and the influence of local market imperfections. This market integration helps farmers access a wider pool of buyers, and it leads to better price realization and reduce the dependency on local intermediaries. The trade details of inter-mandi and interstate e-trading (e-NAM) were presented in tables 5 and 6. It is observed that the total volume of quantity traded through the e-NAM platform in India has increased from 102.89 lakh tonnes in 2019-20 to 209.70 lakh tonnes in 2024-25, making a total of 926.41 lakh tonnes. Of which, 98.23 per cent was traded within the mandi, while inter-mandi and inter-state trade accounted for 1.72 per cent and 0.03 per cent respectively. During 2019-20 to 2024-25, the volume of intra-mandi trade has increased from 102.0 to 204.0 lakh tonnes, while inter-mandi trade has increased from 0.71 to 5.67 lakh tonnes and inter-state trade has increased from 0.01 to 0.17 lakh tonnes. Thus, intra-mandi traded volume was found to be highest than inter-mandi and inter-state trade. The state-wise number of mandies participated in intermandi trade through the e-trading (e-NAM) platform as on 2024-25 are presented in the table 7 andfig Overall, the results indicated that a few states have participated under interstate trading linkages, whereas many states exhibit limited participation, so there is a need to strengthen the inter-state trading linkages.

Conclusion

The present study, an analysis of e-trading (e-NAM) in India using secondary data, revealed that 1,522 markets were covered under e-trading, accounting for 21.41 per cent of the total regulated markets in India, and a total of 247 commodities were traded through the e-platform. Around 183.30 lakh stakeholders were registered, of which farmers constitute the highest participation (179.40 lakhs), followed by traders (26.80 lakhs), commission agents (11.60 lakhs), and 4,589 Farmer-Producer Organizations (FPOs) under this e-trading platform. Participation of stakeholders was largely observed in a few states, such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana, while many other states showed less participation, indicating uneven adoption of stakeholders across different states. The study further revealed that a significant growth trend in both volume and value of commodities traded at 16.40 per cent and 23.87 per cent, respectively. Among the different states inter-mandi trade, found to be high in Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Telangana, whereas only four states, namely Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Tamil Nadu found participated in interstate trade. Though inter-mandi and inter-state trade was also increasing, but less than the intra-mandi, indicating that the objective of a unified national market has not been fully achieved. Thus, the study concluded that increasing awareness through training and capacity-building programs, strengthening institutional support, and encouraging wider participation across all stakeholder groups are essential for improving the effectiveness of the e-trading system.

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