Drought, pests could force India to grant duty-free corn imports
By Rajendra Jadhav
Below-normal monsoon rains and an infestation of the fall armyworm, which devastated African crops in 2017, have slashed India’s corn output and boosted prices, increasing the chances the government will grant duty-free corn imports for the first time since 2016.
The shift to imports in the world’s seventh-largest corn producer, which typically exports to Asia, highlights the breadth of the crop losses due to the drought and armyworm. It also demonstrates the potential harm that the armyworm may wreak on India’s agricultural economy, which supports nearly half of India’s 1.3 billion people.
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“Imports will help in bringing down prices. But the government may not allow huge imports. It will allow them cautiously in a phased manner,” [said Subhranil Dey, a senior research analyst at commodity brokerage SMC Comtrade Ltd in New Delhi].
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Imports must overcome two hurdles. First, the government must agree to lift a 60 percent import tax. Second, imports must be non-genetically modified (GM) strains as India does not allow the cultivate or import of GM crops.
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