Strong increase in import of maize from abroad

17-Oct-2024 01:04 PM

New Delhi. Due to rapidly increasing consumption for various purposes in the domestic sector, India is importing maize heavily from abroad during the current financial year to meet the needs of consumers.

According to the available data, during the entire period of the financial year 2022-23, only about 17 thousand tonnes of maize was imported in the country, which increased to around 1.37 lakh tonnes in the financial year 2023-24 (April-March).

In comparison, in the first four months of the current financial year itself i.e. during April-July 2024, the import of maize jumped to a peak level of 5.63 lakh tonnes. This clearly indicates a huge increase in its domestic demand and consumption.

In the first four months of the current financial year, the highest 3.34 lakh tonnes of maize was imported from Myanmar and 2.25 lakh tonnes from Ukraine.

Apart from this, it was also imported in small quantities from South Africa, Brazil, USA, Bhutan and some other countries.

It is noteworthy that only non-GM or traditional varieties of corn are allowed to be imported in India and import of GM corn is banned, therefore it is not imported in large quantities from leading exporting countries like USA, Brazil and Argentina because GM corn is mainly produced there.

Apart from this, a heavy customs duty of 50 percent is also imposed on the import of corn in India, but duty exemption is given on import of corn from low or other developed countries.

On the demand of the indigenous industry, the Government of India allows the import of corn at concessional duty under Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ). Usually its quantity is fixed up to 5 lakh tonnes and customs duty is imposed on it at the rate of 15 percent.

In view of the possibility of huge demand in ethanol production, India may need to import a huge amount of corn in the coming years because its domestic production is not increasing as expected. The government is emphasizing on increasing corn production.