MCX already has accredited warehouses in Yavatmal and Jalna. To further facilitate delivery of cotton in the region, the exchange plans to provide delivery facilities in three or more new locations in Vidarbha under the mission.
Aimed at enabling a ‘Cotton Mission’ to empower cotton farmers in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha, Multi Commodity Exchange of India Limited(MCX) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Maharashtra state government at MMRDA Auditorium in Mumbai on Thursday.
Mrugank Paranjape, MD & CEO, MCX, Bijay Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary – Agriculture & Marketing, and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis were present at the signing of the MoU. This joint initiative aims to create a value chain with final market linkages to support thousands of cotton farmers in Akola, Amravati, and Wardha. Under the beneficial ambit of this MoU, MCX will partner with the Department of Agriculture, Government of Maharashtra, and other government agencies, to work closely with Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) and help them connect to the exchange’s organized market network, thus enabling them to build their capacities.

MCX has already accredited warehouses in Yavatmal and Jalna. To further facilitate delivery of cotton in the region, the exchange plans to provide delivery facilities at three or more new locations in Vidarbha under the Cotton Mission. The cotton futures market provides an efficient platform for farmers to move up the value chain and increase their realizations. The underlying of MCX cotton futures being ginned cotton, cotton farmers are incentivized to process their produce and sell in the physical market or use the exchange mechanism to deliver and/or hedge to get remunerative prices. This would support Vidarbha’s cotton farmers in their upliftment and is expected to contribute to doubling their incomes by 2022-23, as envisaged by the Government of India.
Devendra Fadnavis said, “Commodity exchanges greatly influence a large section of the society due to the trading of various agro commodities, base metals, and bullion. They can play a key role for inclusive growth and development of commodity markets and market infrastructure. In this regard, MCX’s special focus on the cotton-growing Vidarbha region and its vision of enabling a ‘Cotton Mission’ in Akola, Amravati, and Wardha is highly appreciable and will greatly improve the lives of the farmers in the region. Its assistance in creating a value chain with a final market linkage will further help farmers plan their crop as well as demand the right value for their produce. I wholeheartedly appreciate MCX’s endeavour in leading this mission and assure the government’s full support for this project.”

Mrugank Paranjape said, “The ‘Cotton Mission’ aims to empower cotton farmers in Vidarbha — one of the largest cotton-growing regions in the country. It plans to do so by enhancing market linkages that will provide the right support to farmers in the region. Under this program, the exchange will work with the government to identify and create farmer groups, and work towards equipping these groups to access regulated markets that will enable them to participate in a transparent price discovery mechanism and sell their produce in the national market for better price realization.” “Special emphasis will be given on farmers’ training, education, and awareness so that they can plan and produce quality crop that is marketable as well as benefit from our existing infrastructure. We stand committed to using the organized exchange mechanism to improve the economic power of the farmers and continue to act as a catalyst for the development of a robust commodity market eco-system. We are honored to be associated with the Government of Maharashtra in spearheading this initiative,” Paranjape added. Multi Commodity Exchange of India ended the day at Rs725.25, down Rs15.45, or 2.09%, from its previous close of Rs740.70 on the BSE.

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