The Broken Broker System? Transacting on Agricultural Wholesale Markets in India (Uttarakhand)

The focus is on the central role played by state-regulated commission agents, known as brokers: agents who are widely present in Indian markets to assist sellers in finding buyers through organizing auctions. It is mandatory for buyers and sellers of food to work through brokers, whose activities are licensed and whose fees are fixed, all as part of the extensive government regulation of market transactions. In this paper, microeconomic evidence is used to analyze the functioning of these agents in their regulated environments. Based on primary data from wholesale markets in the northern state of Uttarakhand, the important role of the broker in horticultural market transactions is studied. [IFPRI Discussion Paper 01143]. URL:[http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/ifpridp01143.pdf].