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Total maize output for the kharif and rabi cropping seasons are estimated at 372.5 lakh tonnes
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RAO GN
Arrivals of rabi maize in Bihar agricultural produce marketing committee (APMC) yards, the key producing region for the winter cropping season in the country, have been delayed by a fortnight on push back in sowing period.
“There is a delay in arrivals by about 15 days, but small quantities of the crop have started arriving in the market. Over the next 15-20 days, arrivals should pick up,” said Rahul Chauhan of IGrain India.
Chauhan said the overall production in Bihar might be higher this year by about 15 per cent from last year. The quality looks good and prices are also looking good, similar to last year’s levels.
Weather holds key
Bihar is the major producer of rabi maize, followed by Andhra. As per the second advance estimates, the maize production is seen up by 3.4 per cent at 124.38 lakh tonnes, up from 120.28 lakh tonnes a year ago. Total output for the kharif and rabi cropping seasons are estimated at 372.5 lakh tonnes, as per the second advance estimate.
Santosh Kumar Sharma, a maize trader in Begusarai, said the arrivals have been delayed this year and may start only from the last week of April, subject to the weather conditions. “Only 1-2 per cent of the area has been harvested. While the crop is almost getting ready for harvest, a cloudy weather in recent days had triggered some concerns among the farmers,” Sharma said.
Arrivals have trickling in parts around Gulabagh, a large market for maize in Bihar. Prices of the new maize crop in Gulabagh, ahead of the peak arrivals, are hovering around ₹2,300 per quintal, Sharma said. The minimum support price (MSP) for maize is ₹2,225 per quintal for the 2025-26 rabi marketing season.
Maize production has seen a steady increase in the rabi season in the recent years. From around 100.92 lakh tonnes during 2020-21, maize output has increased to a high of 124.38 lakh tonnes this year.
Arrivals to pressure prices
IGrain’s Chauhan said the prices are likely to come under pressure with the pick up in arrivals in the days ahead as demand is likely to be muted from both the ethanol and the poultry sector. With the increasing off-take of DDGS (Distillers’Dried Grains with Solubles), a by-product of ethanol production, by the livestock feed sector, the demand for maize may remain muted, Chauhan said.
Further, as manufacturing of ethanol has been allowed from rice, molasses and sugar, the overall demand for maize in Bihar may be lower going ahead, Chauhan said. As the crop is very good, people are seen holding good stocks with them. Also, the stockists are having last year’s stocks with them. The stockists are waiting for the government to increase the price of grain-based ethanol, which is around ₹79 per litre, Chauhan added.
As the industry estimates the demand for the corn or maize for 2024-25 is estimated at 475.1 lakh tonnes, with bulk of the demand coming from the poultry feed segment at 222.5 lakh tonnes and 54.7 lakh tonnes from cattle feed and 59.1 lakh tonnes from the starch sector. The demand from fuel ethanol manufacturers is estimated at 102.6 lakh tonnes.
Published on April 7, 2025
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