November 30, 2006

India may not ban corn exports

The Indian government might not ban corn exports for now, a senior government official reported, despite calls by domestic consumers that demand would exceed supply.

With world corn prices at its highest level in a decade, India was getting higher prices for exports, but the country also ran the risk of committing more than what it could supply. Therefore, the government was considering restricting corn exports in order to save its domestic industry.

The country, earlier this month struck its first corn export deals in many years, taking advantage of shrinking global supplies. India sold about 150,000 tonnes of corn to Indonesia, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.

The government also ruled out any decision to allow private traders to import wheat duty-free after Dec 31. It depends on the harvest estimates, said commerce secretary G K Pillai.