Urge to abolish import duty on maize in view of rising domestic market price
24-Jul-2024 06:13 PM
New Delhi. Serious concern is being expressed by various industry groups about the rapidly rising domestic market price of maize. In this connection, the All India Starch Manufacturers Association (AISMA) has urged the Central Government to resolve this problem as soon as possible.
In a letter sent to the Director General of Foreign Trade and Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce, the association has requested the government to reduce the import duty on maize to zero percent.
The letter of the association states that about 45 manufacturing units are included in the scope of starch industry in India, which together have an annual consumption of about 70 lakh tonnes. Starch industry is very important from the point of view of supply of raw material to food products, pharmaceuticals, animal feed, paper and chemical manufacturing industries.
Every year, India's starch industry exports about 8 lakh tonnes of finished products to more than 125 countries of the world, which earns a good amount of valuable foreign currency. Since last year, the starch manufacturing industry has been facing huge difficulties due to various reasons.
Firstly, the price of raw material has increased to a very high level and secondly, the prices of final finished goods and products of this industry are falling.
Maize is a major primary raw material for starch production, but within the last one year, its price has increased by about 25 percent at the national level.
Due to drought in major maize producing states in the year 2023 and its large-scale use in ethanol production, the price of this important coarse grain has increased sharply.
The government has set a target of blending 20 percent ethanol in petrol by the year 2025-26, due to which the demand and consumption of maize is increasing rapidly.
Although recently the government has allowed the import of 5 lakh tonnes of non-GM maize under the Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ), but this quantity is not sufficient in view of the huge domestic demand.
This maize will be imported through the government agency - NAFED, on which a customs duty of 15 percent will be levied.
Globally, only Ukraine has ample exportable stocks of non-GM maize, but it is currently in the off-season for its supply. Currently, a 50 percent import duty is imposed on maize, which needs to be rolled back immediately.