January 22, 2009

India's February corn futures reached a new high due to renewed interest from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, as well as continued buying by government agencies on Wednesday (Jan 21), analysts said.

The Food Corp of India (FCI) and state agencies have been aggressively buying corn since last week to prevent prices from falling below the state-set level of Rs840 per 100 kg, according to traders and analysts.

Renewed buying interests from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have revived prices, which have been falling for the past three months due to declining local demand, bird flu outbreak and global economic slowdown.

Spot prices rose by Rs4 to Rs832 per 100 kg in Nizamabad, a major trading centre.

February corn futures contract NMZG9 increased 2.75 percent to end at Rs878 per 100 kg on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange.

The contract then hit a high of Rs880 per 100 kg in intraday trade.

US$1 = Rs49.0250 (Jan 22)