India’s maize exports at 6-year high on record imports by Bangladesh

NEW DELHI: India’s maize exports have already touched a six-year high this fiscal, with shipments in the April-September period nearly treble of those for the whole of the last fiscal.

Bangladesh, which has imported a record two-thirds of the commodity shipped out of India, is the big reason for the spike in exports. “Bangladesh has bought over seven lakh tonnes since April this year. At least two lakh tonnes could have been exported to that country since October,” said exporting house Bengani Food Products Pvt Ltd managing director Bimal Bengani.

The rise in exports comes after domestic end-users such as poultry and starch sectors complained of supply shortage and high prices last year. The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) data shows that maize exports in the first half of the fiscal were 9.22 lakh tonnes at a value of $184.52 million compared with 3.70 lakh tonnes worth $142.78 million the whole of the last fiscal.

Of this, Bangladesh imported a record 6.18 lakh tonnes valued at $122.25 million till September. Before this, the neighbouring nation had imported a maximum of 5.16 lakh tonnes worth $139.93 million during 2012-13.

As per APEDA April-November data, exports of other cereals, which includes maize, were 15.04 lakh tonnes valued at $327 million.