The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Ban on maize exports unwarranted, says Maize Exporters Association

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Sunday, Jul 06, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Ban on maize exports unwarranted, says Maize Exporters Association

Staff Reporter

Kakinada: The Maize Exporters’ Association (MEA), Kakinada described the ban imposed on maize exports by the Central Government, as unwarranted and stated that it resulted in the stoppage of payment of about Rs.200 crore to farmers towards the value of commodity supplied by them.

The exporters demanded that the government should either compensate their loss by purchasing 2,00,000 tonnes of maize lying idle in warehouses here, at MSP to clear the dues to farmers or exempt the export contracts already entered with customers to enable the exporters fulfil their obligations.

As of now eight ships are being loaded at Kakinada port and four more are waiting for berths.

Otherwise, the exporters would suffer huge losses and the farmers would be forced to stop cultivating maize due to meagre demand within the country (a major share of India’s maize production is exported to Vietnam, Malaysia and many African countries which are heavily dependent on maize for food).

Speaking to reporters here on Saturday, MEA President Vinod Kumar Agarwal said in India maize was just one of the components in poultry and cattle feed whereas the demand in African countries had shifted to maize which was a cheap substitute for non – basmati rice whose price shot up in the wake of the ban imposed in India.

MEA members G. Brahmananda Reddy, Vicky Sachdeva, S.K. Eswar Reddy and K.P. Reddy were present.

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