Maize exports may double by June

Indian price is $25 a tonne cheaper than that of the US.

The country's maize exports may rise to a record 2 million tonnes in the year to June as animal feed makers in Southeast Asia seek cheaper alternatives to supplies from the US, industry officials said.

Exporters have sold one million tonnes in the past six months and shipments could double as the grain from India is at least $25 a tonne cheaper than from the US, Manish V Gupta, managing director of Gujarat Ambuja Exports, said. Overseas sales last year totalled about 400,000 tonnes.

Increased supply from the South Asian nation may help cool prices of corn in Chicago that reached a record early this month. Maize has advanced 23 per cent in the past year, reaching a peak $5.2875 on February 6, as demand for ethanol and livestock feed rose.

"Everything is in favour of corn exports from India,'' said Gupta. "There's ample demand and freight is lower'' than that charged by the US suppliers.

The country may harvest 16.8 million tonnes of maize this year, up 11 per cent a year earlier, the farm ministry said on February 7. That may leave a surplus of 2 million tonnes for exports, Gupta said.

"A reasonable quantity of maize is available for exports and shipments will continue,'' Atul Chaturvedi, president at Adani Enterprises, the biggest exporter of farm products, said. Indian maize was priced around $245 a tonnes free on board, he said.

Even so, congestion at ports and concerns about a ban on exports of the grain may slow shipments, Ambuja's Gupta said.

Indian producers of poultry feed and starch, the biggest users of maize, want the government to ban exports because of a shortage caused by a fall in output. Shipments by non-state-run traders were banned for six months last year.

"If India doesn't ban exports, domestic users may have to pay a bomb to import the grain,'' Gupta said.

Corn futures for March delivery rose 0.7 per cent to $5.1475 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on February 15. In India, corn for immediate delivery rose as much as 0.5 per cent to Rs 745 a quintal on National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange.

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IN HIGH SPIRIT

Exports may rise to a record 2 million tonnes in the year to June

Last year, overseas sales totalled about 400,000 tonnes

The country may harvest 16.8 million tonnes of maize this year, up 11 per cent from a year earlier

Indian producers of poultry feed and starch, the biggest users of maize, want the government to ban exports