Vegetable mandi traders have to face many challenges daily to sustain their businesses. These challenges are sometimes so intense that they directly affect the growth of their businesses. In the last blog, we discussed the 5 Ways to Increase Profits in Agriculture Business. In this blog, we’ll talk about 5 top challenges of vegetable mandi traders that need immediate attention.
1. Network of trusted traders
The biggest challenge for any vegetable mandi traders or a new trader is to find a reliable party. They need to find a suitable counterparty for purchasing or selling the commodities in the vegetable mandis. As there are risks associated with working with new traders in the mandis, they usually prefer to work with someone they know. This keeps their network limited to a few traders and mandis.
Since the credibility of the trader is essential in the mandi business, traders can use apps like the Bijak app to find reliable buyers or suppliers. This app has India’s largest network of verified traders. Bijak helps buyers and suppliers contact each other, view the supply or demand needs of counterparties, and securely expand their businesses outside their respective regions.
2. Timely and safe transportation
Transportation is an integral part of any mandi business. Whether a trader buys or sells commodities, they need transportation. However, the two biggest challenges of transportation is finding one on time, and finding the right kind of transport you need for your commodity. To avoid such roadblocks, traders are usually always be in touch with 2-3 transport companies to quickly find suitable transporters for their commodities.
Ideally, traders must always book their transport one to two days in advance. If needed, they can also use truck booking apps. It’s also vital to know the kind of transportation they need. For example, a trader who wants to send tomatoes to Kerala from Delhi will need a truck with ample cold storage. This is because tomatoes get spoiled after 1-2 days of travel and humidity. So, it’s essential to choose a proper mode of transport, keeping in mind the nature of the commodity and the time it will take to arrive at its destination.
3. Payments and cash flow
Vegetable mandi traders must take complete care of their cash flow and payments. While doing business in the vegetable mandis, buyers often don’t pay the money as soon as they buy the produce. When the amount is big, they also pay in 2-3 days later Traders, especially the suppliers, constantly strive to ensure that they receive the payments on time. Since slow cash flow also slows down the pace of growth of their business.
On the side of the buyers, paying a considerable amount is a challenge when making payments. Paying lakhs through banks can also be tedious and time consuming. To avoid delaying payments to suppliers, traders can switch to the Bijak app, which provides secure payment gateways so that funds are transferred directly to the other traders’ accounts without hassle. Traders can also choose the mode of payment as per their convenience on the Bijak app – RTGS, NEFT, or IMPS. Payments via Bijak can be made 24×7. The app also provides Bijak Business Accounts to the registered buyers on the app so that they can quickly pay for their orders. All mandi traders on the Bijak app also get a Bijak Pocket Account which can be used to make faster payments. Besides, they can also earn Cashbacks by paying via Bijak app.
4. Right storage
Sometimes the commodities need to be stored for a short period so that they can be sold later at the right price. However, storage is a challenge for the Indian agriculture sector. [16%] of India’s total agricultural production every year gets spoilt due to a lack of proper storage. Therefore, different types of storage facilities are required for different commodities. Currently, there are four types of storage facilities available in India:
i) Naturally ventilated storage: It’s ventilated, but the temperature and humidity cannot be determined.
ii) Ventilated storage: This type of storage is ventilated, but lacks the facility to control humidity and temperature. Due to this, there is a risk of commodities getting spoiled.
iii) Bamboo storage: It’s reasonable as the structure is made with the help of bamboo sticks, and the roof is made with sugarcane leaves. Although these are made at a low cost, the commodities stored here can get spoiled quickly due to a lack of adequate facilities.
iv) Cold storage: This is the modern storage with the facility to control temperature, wind, and humidity. It’s effective in keeping commodities safe for a long time.
5. Latest commodity rates
It’s essential to know the rates of various commodities in different mandis. Based on this, traders can strike profitable deals with parties outside their region. Furthermore, by staying up-to-date on the latest mandi rates, they will also be able to make a fair estimate of what price they need to pay for that commodity or what the total cost will be. Mandi traders can check the latest mandi rates of 200+ top agricultural commodities from 2,000+ mandis across India using the Bijak app. The traders can even view the rates of the commodities they trade in order of priority on the app.
The vegetable mandi business has both opportunities and challenges. However, with apps like Bijak, they can easily overcome these challenges. If you’re also a vegetable mandi trader, you must try the Bijak agri trading app.
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