PM Narayana Bhat business manager of COFEI told The Financial Express that Reserve Bank of India had given clearance to the proposals of the two banks to participate in the clearing operations of the exchange. The banks are now completing the internal formalities connected with commencement of the clearing operations.

Mr Bhat said with the participation of the banks in clearing operations COFEI would be able to handle big volumes by extending the trading hours from the existing two and half hours to at least four hours a day. ``We will gradually increase the timings taking into account the response of the traders and other players in the market,'' he said.Mr Bhat said COFEI hopes to double the volume with the extension of trading hours. At present COFEI handles an average of 400 lots (each lot worth 600 kgs) in two and half hours trading per day. ``We hope to implement this within the next one month,'' he said, adding, ``everything will be in place before the onset of the season in full swing.'' The domestic coffee season begins from October and touches top gear by November.

sCOFEI has also firmed up plans for setting up a chain of regional trading centres in the main coffee growing areas of the country. In the first phase COFEI will be opening centres in Hassan, Kushalnagar and Chickamgalur. The regional tarding centre will also have online trading facilities based on V-SAT connectivity.

In the second phase COFEI plans to set up trading centres in Kalpetta in Kerala and Salem and Pattiveerapatti in Tamil Nadu. On the crash of coffee prices despite the presence of futures exchange, Mr Bhat said coffee growers in the country were yet to realise the importance of the futures exchange in stabilising the prices. ``We have undertaken a series of mass contact programme in the main coffee growing areas of the country about the relevance of futures market,'' he said. Similar exercises would be conducted by COFEI in the coming days.