HYDERABAD : Storing farm produce safely is as important as growing them, and a few companies are providing services to see that the food grains make their way to our plates. Hyderabad-based Origo Commodities offers solutions for procurement, handling, preserving, storing and financing agricultural produce.
Talking to Express, the co-founder of the company, Sunoor Kaul, said, “We offer two major services — warehousing for government and private sectors, and financing. We manage Rs 9,000 crore worth of commodities meant for the Public Distribution System. We also provide our services for commodity exchanges like Multi Commodity Exchange.
We have our presence in 12 states now.” Speaking about their warehouses in Telangana, he said: “We maintain a warehouse in Shadnagar (for maize) and will be starting one in Malakpet (for rice) soon. We are also planning one in Zaheerabad for purchasing soybean, and another in Warangal for cotton. We primarily deal in paddy, wheat, cotton, pulses and oilseeds.” Once the agricultural stocks come in, the company assesses the quantity and quality of grains.
Audits and fumigations are carried out in the godowns, where the grains are stored for 9-12 months. “For small landholders forming the bulk of the farm sector in India, poor output, credit market linkages and vulnerability to output price fluctuations are among the most critical constraints. On the other hand, one of the biggest business risks facing commodity buyers is sourcing standardised quality produce on a sustainable basis.
The economy suffers huge losses from wastages in the absence of an integrated supply chain. The lack of transparency and liquidity in commodity trade also results in higher prices for consumers. In our company, we are trying to address these issues,” the co-founder said. The company was founded by Sunoor Kaul and Mayank Dhanuka in 2010. They were bankers in the USA and wanted to start a new venture in India. “When we came back, we saw an opportunity in the agricultural financing sector. That is when Origo was born,” Sunoor added.
— Kakoli Mukherjee kakoli_mukherjee@newindianexpress.com @KakoliMukherje2