Q.(a) Write notes on :

(a)(i) A soft commodities market trades grown agricultural commodities like coffee, sugar and cotton; (a)(ii) NCDS is an electronic clearing, settlement and depository system for dematerialised securities. (b) A marketer performs functions from research and buying to standardising, branding, pricing, promoting, selling and physically distributing goods.

(a) Write notes on:

(i) Soft Commodities Market

• Soft commodities are agricultural products that are grown rather than mined or extracted — for example, coffee, sugar, cocoa, cotton, wheat and other grains.
• The soft commodities market is the market where such commodities are bought and sold, usually through commodity exchanges and often in the form of futures contracts.
• Because these goods are perishable and their supply depends on weather and harvests, their prices tend to fluctuate. The market helps producers and buyers fix prices and manage the risk of price changes.

(ii) National Clearance and Depository System (NCDS)

• NCDS is an electronic system designed for the clearing, settlement and safe custody (depository) of securities.
• It holds securities in dematerialised (electronic) form and records the transfer of ownership on settlement of trades.
• By replacing physical certificates and manual settlement, it makes stock-market trading faster, safer, cheaper and free from the risks of loss, theft or forgery.

OR

(b) Functions of a Marketer

1. Marketing research — studying customer needs, tastes and market conditions before producing and selling.
2. Buying and assembling — procuring the right raw materials and goods needed for the business.
3. Product planning and development — deciding the design, features and range of products to be offered.
4. Standardisation and grading — setting standards and sorting goods into grades of uniform quality.
5. Packaging and branding — protecting the product and giving it an identity to attract customers.
6. Pricing — fixing a suitable price that is fair to customers and profitable to the firm. …