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TranslateComposition of auction platforms:
\nAuction Platforms are established in the vicinity of tobacco growing areas covering 50 to 100 villages having almost similar type of soil and produce similar style of tobacco. Each auction platform serves about 2500 growers.
\nQuota allotment to the growers:
The villages in an auction platform jurisdiction are grouped into clusters (group of villages). The number of growers and number of curing units (barns) are more or less uniform in each cluster. Each auction platform will have around 10 clusters consisting of about 250-300 growers in each-cluster. Growers are permitted to offer tobacco for sale, cluster wise, one cluster after another cluster on specified dates which gives equal opportunity for sale of tobacco to all the growers. Sale of entire produce completes in 6 to 7 rounds of sale. The quota system also provides an equal opportunity to all the growers to sell tobacco at fixed intervals.
Grading:
All the tobacco growers are required to grade their tobacco into specified grades as per the specifications laid down, before offering the same for sale. The growers producing tobacco in black soils are required to grade their tobacco according to ‘Farm’ grades and the grower’s producing tobacco in light soils are required to grade their tobacco according to ‘Plant position’ grades.
Standardization of bale packing material:
All the growers are required to use standardized bale packing material made of Jute cloth for packing of tobacco. Tobacco is packed between two Jute cloth and tied with country twine in between. The bale is open on 4 sides.
Weighment of tobacco bales and issue of receipt to the growers:
As soon as the bales are delivered at the platform, each bale is marked with TBGR No., lot number, weighed in the presence of the grower and a receipt is issued to the grower as token of receipt of the produce delivered. The receipt contains the details of the grower concerned, lot number allotted to the bale and weight. The weighment starts in the early hours of the day. For absolute transparency and to ensure correct weighment, electronic weighing scales are being used and computerized receipts are generated.
Arrangement of bales on the platform:
After weighment, the bales are arranged in rows on the auction platform in the order of lot numbers so that all the bales of a grower will be in a row at one place.
Classification of tobacco:
After the bales are arranged serially on the auction platform, the classifier of Tobacco Board, opens the bales and take out samples from 2 to 3 places and assign the grade as per the specifications laid down by the Board for the same. The sample drawn is also displayed on the top of the bale.
Mode of bidding:
\nPrior to 2012 the auction process used to be manual where the ‘starter’ of the Tobacco Board announces the grade and the starting price of each bale. The bids go up till the bale is knocked down to the highest bid
\nIn the year 2012, Tobacco Board has introduced electronic auction system in place of manual auction system and brought complete transparency in auction process.
\nIn electronic auction system for sale of tobacco, all the buyers and starters are provided with electronic device called Hand Held Terminals (HHT) to participate in auction. All the data about the tobacco bales offered for sale i.e., their weight, lot number and its grade and any other remarks are displayed on all the hand-held terminals. By operating HHT, the starter initiates the bidding by assigning opening price to a particular lot/tobacco bale and the same appears on all the buyers’ HHTs and the buyers who are interested in that particular lot will bid by adding price in multiples of Rs.1/- through HHT. The buyer who quotes highest price will be allotted with the lot/bale and it can be viewed in their HHT. The system provides complete transparency in bidding process and facilitates growers to view the bidding process on real time basis through the electronic display provided in the auction centres.
\n‘No Bid’:
\nAfter the starter sets the starting price, if no buyer bids for a bale, the starter may reduce the starting price to a level he feels the bale should fetch in the given market situation. Even then, if there is no bid forth coming, the starter may withdraw the bale from sale. Such “No-Bid” bale will be re-offered for sale on some other day.
\nRejection by growers (RR):
After bidding, the grower has option in the system to refuse the price offered for the bale if he is not satisfied and can re-offer it for sale during his next round of sale.
Repudiation by buyers:
After the sale is concluded, if the buyer finds that a bale purchased by him is badly handled, mouldy, funked or damaged or nested or in some other manner unfit for sale and such remark was not marked by the classifier, the buyer can repudiate the sale if the same is satisfied by the officials of the Board.
Making No-sale of the bales offered for sale:
\na) Elimination of NTRM- Rejection of bales offered for sale:
The international concerns about NTRM have been taken care of by the Tobacco Board and it is taking all sorts of preventive measures to eliminate the NTRMs in tobacco by educating the farmers at farm level during production, curing, grading etc. on its ill effects in product integrity and acceptability by the international merchants.
In this direction as a final check, Tobacco Board is verifying the tobacco bales offered for sale thoroughly for any traces of NTRMs and if any such objectionable traces of NTRMs are found the bale is rejected from sale with an advise to the grower concerned for separation of the NTRMs.
\nb) No-sale due to other reasons:
As a part of assuring the buyer on product integrity in terms of optimum moisture and tobacco to the standards of the recommended grades, Tobacco Board conducts thorough verification of the bales at the time of arranging grades and reject such bales as \"No Sale\" which are not meeting the standards.
Delivery of unsold bales to the growers:
The unsold bales (viz.) Rytu rejection (RR) bales, company rejection (CR) bales, No Bid (NB) bales, No Sale (NS) bales etc. are returned to the concerned growers after obtaining proper acknowledgement.
Delivery of bales sold to the buyers:
The bales sold are slotted in the godown buyer wise, and are delivered to the concerned buyers after 100% re-weighment of the bales. In case, the buyer delays the lifting of bales beyond the period specified, Board levies demurrage charges.
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