No Ban On MAIZE EXPORT : GOVT

Union Government has ruled out any plan to impose ban on maize export despite consistent demand to this effect from the poultry industry.
The Commerce Secretary G K pillai told newsmen on the sidelines of a function at Vigyan Bhawan here that the government will also not revoke exiting export ban on rice and wheat.

Pillai said, the government is however likely to review the ban on foodgrains by October-November this year. "This will be done once the picture is clearer," he said. About 50% of the total Indian produce is consumed as poultry feed and about 8% is consumed by the starch industry. Indian maize exports fluctuates around 5 lakh tons annually.

The poultry industry has been repeatedly demanding an export ban on maize besides withdrawing the foodgrains from future trading platform.The global prices of the corn have shot up in recent months due to corn divertion into bio-fuels production amid high crude oil prices.The price of crude oil touched an all time high of 140 US dollar per barrel in the US future trade.

India’s produces around 10-14 million tons of maize annually. This contributes to about 2% of the total world production. Maize in India is generally produced as ‘kharif’ crop, which means that it is usually produced in the summers. Most of the corn produced in India mainly comes from the southern Corn Belt states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Earlier in 50’s and 60’s, the maize production was improved through crop management techniques and increasing the area under cultivation