Alternative Distribution channel
In the agriculture value-chain of Bangladesh, more frequently intermediaries play a key role of connecting products and services among suppliers and buyers by arranging all the intermediate value-addition services, i.e., local transportation, grading, sorting, packing, labourers’ arrangements and storage facilities, if required. Farmers or small agro-traders cannot facilitate such services due to either lack of infrastructure in the rural areas or lack of resources to finance such facilities instantly. This results in intermediaries playing a key role in price determination, influence on crops supply, and logistics arrangements and taking much of the risks of transactions.
This extremely unusual dependency on intermediate traders makes the entire trading system very vulnerable to any natural and man-made disaster or manipulation at any stage of the trading. As a result, intermediaries are taking advantage, controlling the local market and depriving the farmers and MSMEs from getting the fair prices of their products and commodities. Moreover, retailers are compelled to purchase the commodities with higher prices from the syndicate controlled traditional wholesale markets. There is not yet any alternative marketing channel that the commodities from the producers could reach to the retailers directly.
Therefore, Ghashful has been introduced to create an alternative marketing channel for the MSMEs/agriculture commodity producers to access the forward market avoiding the intermediate traders.