Farmers expected to get better prices due to increasing demand for maize

29-Oct-2024 07:42 PM

New Delhi. According to official data, the production area of ​​maize increased to 88.06 lakh hectares in the Kharif season of 2024, which was 3.41 lakh hectares more than the sowing area of ​​84.65 lakh hectares in the year 2023.

As a result, an increase in production was expected, but due to heavy rains in some areas, waterlogging in the fields for a long time and severe floods, the crop was damaged, due to which the overall production of this important coarse grain is likely to be around last year.

On the other hand, its domestic demand and consumption is expected to increase significantly because along with traditional consumer sectors like poultry feed, animal feed and starch manufacturing industry, a new user has now emerged.

This is the ethanol manufacturing industry in which the consumption of maize is likely to increase rapidly. Grain-based distilleries will require huge quantities of maize to produce ethanol and its activity is expected to increase prices. Farmers are expected to get better returns from this.

It is understood that India can import about 10 lakh tonnes of maize from Myanmar because non-GM maize is produced there and secondly, there is also exemption in duty on its import from there.

However, permission to import GM maize for ethanol production can also be considered. Non-GM maize is also produced in Ukraine and under the Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) system, permission was given to import 5 lakh tonnes of maize from there.

The season of arrival of new Kharif maize has started in the domestic markets, while its price is higher than the government support price. The government has increased the minimum support price of maize by 6.5 percent to Rs 2225 per quintal.