December 15, 2022

 

India's poultry sector calls to restrict corn exports to stop rising prices

India's poultry sector has called on the government to ban corn exports to control increasing local poultry prices and ensure sufficient supplies of the main poultry feed, The Economic Times reported.

 

Domestic corn prices have risen as a result of high demand, increased exports, and crop damage caused by heavy post-monsoon rains.

 

Neeraj Kumar Srivastava, chairman of the Compound Livestock Feed Manufacturers' Association of India, said the industry is facing massive corn shortages, so they have asked the government to ban corn exports.

 

Corn prices at the Gulab Bagh market in the eastern state of Bihar, a major corn hub, have risen by about 12% in the last year to INR 25,000 (~US$302.02; INR 10 = US$0.12) per tonne, raising the cost of production for India's poultry industry.

 

Srivastava said corn prices have been rising for several years, but the recent spike has come as a shock to the industry, and that is why they are experiencing difficulties.

 

He said the industry cannot pass on the cost to consumers because higher egg and chicken prices will make these poultry products unaffordable.

 

According to trade and industry estimates, India exported 3.6 million tonnes of corn in 2021, up from 1.9 million tonnes sold on the global market in 2020.

 

India exported 2.4 million tonnes of corn between January and September of this year.

 

On the global market, Indian corn is priced at US$315 to US$320 per tonne, compared to US$350 per tonne for rival supplies from Argentina, the world's second-largest corn exporter after the US

 

India exports corn to Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam.

 

-      The Economic Times