The Government of India has decided to import 5 lakh tonnes of maize to check price rise and hoarding in view of fall in domestic production of the crop.
“To check prices & prevent hoarding Smt @nsitharaman approves importing 5,00,000 MT of maize under Tarrif Rate Quota by State Trading Entp,” the Indian commerce ministry said in a tweet.
The approval of import was given by Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman before she left for Russia to participate in Innoprom manufacturing exposition where India is the partner country this year.
According to experts, maize production in the country has been hit by poor rainfall for the past two successive years.
Now the duty-free import of maize will be possible under the Tariff Rate Quota System, which allows import of four products, including maize (corn), at concessional rates of customs duty. Currently, maize can be imported with 50 per cent import duty, import duty will be zero under the Tariff Rate Quota Scheme.
STC, MMTC and state-owned trading firm PEC are the eligible entities for allocation of quota under the scheme in case of corn.
Starch manufacturing and poultry are the main industries in India that generate huge demand for corn every year. Last month, PEC had invited bids for import of 50,000 tonnes of maize to boost domestic supplies in view of decline in production.
According to Agriculture Ministry, country’s maize production is estimated to have declined from 23.67 million tonnes in 2014-15 to 21.02 million tonnes in 2015-16. For many decades, India has been a major corn exporter to Southeast Asia, but its export supplies are now on the decline due to drought and rising domestic demand. The government is also facing criticism following steep rise in prices of pulses for the past one year. The union government is also importing pulses to check price rise and boost availability across the country.
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