India lowers duty on 400,000 tonnes of corn imports

India lowered import taxes on an additional 400,000 tonnes of corn to 15 per cent. India, the world's seventh-greatest corn maker, normally imposes a 60 per cent import charge on the grain, yet an invasion of the fall armyworm, which crushed African crops in 2017, and dry weather in certain areas have cut the country’s corn output.

The lack of corn had been harming the dairy cattle feed industry since last year and the extra imports help to bring down prices, said by Amit Sraogi, overseeing executive of Anmol Feeds pvt. Ltd.

India was a major exporter of corn to southeast Asia until falling output and expanding demand from poultry makers and corn starch producers turned it into an importer a few years ago.

The switch in India's position cheered rival suppliers, such as, Brazil, Argentina and the United States, which have now replaced New Delhi in the southeast Asian market.

India, which does not permit the development of any genetically modified food crops, has rules intended to ensure that imports contain no trace of genetically modified organism.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.