What challenges do agricultural produce market committees (APMCs) face in India?

While agricultural produce market committees (APMC) markets—locally termed mandis—have protected farmers from gross exploitation since their widespread adoption in the 1960s and ’70s, governmental and academic studies have regularly highlighted systemic issues that plague these regulatory bodies. These include the disproportionate influence of traders and intermediaries over prices, often as a result of monopsony (a market with only one major buyer); cartelization; conflicts of interest; rent-seeking; and limited price discovery mechanisms. Many mandis also lack storage and other infrastructure, which leads to waste and depressed prices for farmers.