India floods may reduce summer corn output

Flooding in the southern Indian states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh - the top two producers of the grain in the country - is likely to reduce India's corn production during the summer season, a senior industry official said Tuesday (Oct 6).

"The information that we are getting is that the areas in Karnataka, which were very good in corn production, have been affected badly," US Grains Council India representative Amit Sachdev told DowJones Newswires.

India's corn production in the crop year ended September was about 19.3 million tonnes. Its exports during the period were estimated at 2.3 million to 2.4 million tonnes.

Local traders estimate that corn production in 2009-10 could fall by about a million tonnes or more from last year.