November 29, 2010

Indonesian buyers visit India to inspect corn quality

Indonesian corn importers are visiting India to inspect corn cargoes before loading as heavy rains have affected the crop in major growing regions, trading executives said Friday (Nov 26).

India has deferred some of its corn exports to Southeast Asia because the level of moisture in corn-at around 16%-is well above the contracted level of 13% or less.

"A couple of buyers from Indonesia are visiting India to make an on-the-spot assessment of the corn quality before deciding on whether to extend the (shipment) time period," said one of the traders familiar with the matter.

He said Indonesia already has ample volume of corn to meet its immediate needs, and some buyers are inclined to cancel orders if cargoes can't be delivered on time, while others say that prices could rise if cargoes are cancelled now and then fixed again in a few months.

Another trading executive said it is better that buyers inspect the crop quality before shipment-to avoid any rejection later.

India has so far contracted exports of around 350,000 tonnes of corn for the November-January period, mostly to Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia.