February 20, 2008

India's corn exports slow as domestic prices rise

Corn exports from India have slowed in the last few weeks due to a sudden rise in domestic prices, the Hindu Business Line newspaper reported, quoting industry sources.

The fall in freight rates by nearly 35 percent in the last few weeks has also cut the spread between Indian and U.S. corn, the report said.

According to Amit Sachdev, the Indian representative of the U.S. Grains council, exports have slowed down in the last couple of weeks and only the contracted quantity is being shipped, the report said.

Corn exports from India had surged in the marketing year that started October because of good local production and strong demand.

Industry estimates that more than 1.0 million tonnes of corn have already been contracted for export in the current marketing year.