India's corn exports to take a downturn

India may export less than a million tonnes of corn in the year to September, down from 2.3 million tonnes last year, on lower priced global offerings, poor domestic crop and quality issues, according to a top trade official.

 

"India's corn exports could be less than a million tonnes. Our offered prices are higher than the competitors, our crop size was also smaller which impacted our exports," said Amit Sachdev, India representative of the US Grains Council.

 

Sachdev said India exported 2.3 million tonnes of the grain in the year ending September 2009. The export year began on a negative note with quality issues resulting in rejection of large consignments.

 

India generally sells around 2-3 million tonnes of corn a year out of the global trade of around 80 million tonnes, and is an important supplier for Asian buyers seeking prompt shipment.

 

The Indian advantage was further diminished by lower priced offerings from the US and South America. Indian delivery prices to China and Southeast Asia have been consistently higher by 10-15% over the US delivery in the current marketing year, traders said.

 

"Indian domestic prices were higher and so were export offerings but the good thing is the farmers benefited," Sachdev said.

 

Indian prices ruled above INR8,400 (US$184) per tonne, the government intervention price for 2009/10, which was mostly higher than the US free-on-board prices. The country recently increased the intervention prices by about 5%.

 

The country cultivated corn in 8.88 million hectares in the 2009/10 crop year, about 6% higher than the previous year. Corn is cultivated during both kharif and rabi (winter) seasons. Kharif accounts for about 85% of the acreage.