Physical Commodity Benchmark Pricing Methodology
The analytical framework, specification standards, and verification protocols utilized by Todaybhav to produce reliable physical cash benchmarks across India and partner global origins.
01Physical Cash vs. Financial Derivatives
Todaybhav physical benchmarks reflect executable, deliverable spot cash transactions rather than speculative financial derivatives. While futures exchange settlements (e.g. NCDEX, MCX, CBOT) reflect paper risk premia, our quotes represent real physical lots cleared at farmgate, mandi yards, mill gates, and port customs.
02Primary Data Sources & Ingestion Protocols
Price discovery integrates three distinct, corroborative data streams to ensure zero single-source bias:
- Official APMC & Agmarknet Feeds: Direct modal auction settlement records and arrivals published by state agricultural marketing boards across 2,400+ regulated mandis.
- Physical Broker & Commission Agent Panels: Daily trade-closing confirmations with vetted physical commission agents, dal millers, oilseed crushers, and export houses.
- Port Terminal & Customs Manifests: Landed port parity assessments incorporating ocean freight, import duty structures, and handling costs for CIF/FOB benchmarks.
03Quality Specification & Normalization (FAQ)
Because physical commodities exhibit high natural variance, Todaybhav enforces standardized Fair Average Quality (FAQ) parameters before quotes enter benchmark calculations:
| Commodity | Max Moisture | Foreign Matter | Base Specification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wheat (Mill Quality) | 12.0% | < 1.5% | Dara Sound Grain |
| Mustard Seed | 8.0% | < 2.0% | 42% Oil Content Basis |
| Chana (Chickpeas) | 10.0% | < 1.0% | Clean Machine Screened |
| Jeera (Cumin Seed) | 8.0% | < 0.5% | 99.5% Purity Grade A |
04Outlier Rejection & Volume Weighting
To prevent anomalous trades from skewing benchmarks, distress clearances, non-standard moisture distress lots, and sub-5-quintal sample auctions are automatically rejected. Published modal rates represent the central price band carrying the heaviest physical transacted volume for that trading session.
05Revision Policy & Audit Trail
In the event of an official post-session correction issued by an APMC committee or customs authority, Todaybhav applies the updated figure with an explicit errata log. Historical snapshots remain permanently versioned to preserve research integrity.