India's poultry sector urges for ceiling on corn and soy storage

India's National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC) appealed to the government for a ceiling on the storage volume of corn and soymeal so that excess stock can be put into the market to lower prices.

 

NECC pointed out that the poultry industry, particularly the small farmers, is gripped with unprecedented hikes in corn and soy prices.

 

A substantial increase in corn production from 14 million tonnes last year to 18.4 million tonnes this year has been reported.

 

Yet, this has not been enough to cushion the upward movement of corn prices due to forward trading, speculation and hoarding by traders, the committee said.

 

The industry is worried that unless the Indian government takes concrete measures to pull back stocks, the commodities may not be available to farmers.

 

Unless the situation is remedied immediately, 40-50 percent of the poultry industry may close down, the report indicates.

 

Meanwhile, India has started exporting higher quantities of corn.

 

The government stands firm on its decision not to ban the overseas shipments of corn amid consistent oppositions from the chicken sector, commerce secretary G K Pillai said.

 

About 50 percent of the total Indian corn output is consumed as poultry feed.

 

India produces around 10-14 million tonnes of corn annually, which contributes to about 2 percent of the total world production. Corn in the country 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.