India will likely export 6.5 lakh tonnes of corn (maize) during the current marketing year to September due to a slew of factors and the Iran war.
According to the US Department of Agriculture, projections of corn exports have been raised from 3.5 lakh tonnes in view of competitive pricing, strong regional demand, higher production and a change in the use of grains for ethanol.
“Between October and December 2025, India exported almost 400,000 tonnes of corn, double the volume for the same period in the last 2 years,” it said in its latest “Grains: World Markets and Trade” report.
Already higher than last fiscal
Corn exports surged to 3.69 million tonnes (mt) in the 2021-22 fiscal year before declining to 0.56 mt last fiscal, according to data from the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority. This year, shipments were pegged at 0.65 lakh tonnes in the first nine months of the current fiscal.
“Indian corn is offered to Bangladesh at $220-230 a tonne. Brazil’s offers are at $260 a tonne,” said Harish Bengani, Director of Kolkata-based Bengani Commodities Private Limited.
Bangladesh is looking for cheaper corn and is comfortable with Indian prices, he said.
Lower than MSP
M Madan Prakash, Director at Chennai-based Rajathi Group, said corn is delivered from the Nashik area to Mumbai port and from the southern region to the Tuticorn port at ₹19,000 a tonne. “At Mumbai, it is the old crop, while at Tuticorn, it is the new crop which is in demand,” he said.
Data from Agmarknet, a unit of the Ministry of Agriculture, the weighted average price of wheat is currently ₹1,734.78 a quintal against the minimum support price of ₹2,400 fixed by the Government. During the same period last year, the price was ₹2,284.90.
The USDA said India’s corn harvest is forecast at a record 43 mt, up 1 mt more than 2024-25 and 5.3 mt higher than in 2023-24.
Record harvests
According to the second advance estimates of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, corn production during the current crop year to June is pegged at a record high of 30.25 mt in the kharif season and at a new high of 15.9 mt in the rabi season.
At least another 3.5 mt could be harvested during the summer or Zaid season. This year, the area under corn in the Zaid season, as of March 13, is 22,000 hectares lower than last year at 2.96 lakh hectares.
A New Delhi-based trade analyst said corn is witnessing a rise in prices as the crop in Bihar has been delayed.
Awaiting Bihar crop
Bengani said exporters to Bangladesh are particularly awaiting the Bihar corn crop. “Bihar usually produces 2.2-2.5 mt of corn,” he said.
In addition, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have reported good harvests, he said, adding that carryover stocks are ensuring ample supplies.
“We are getting enquiries from Vietnam and Colombo (Sri Lanka,” said the Kolkata-based firm’s director.
Prakash said demand for corn from Vietnam has increased after the Iran war broke out.
The USDA said corn production has increased due to the growth of grain ethanol programme. Before 2023-24, most ethanol was made using sugarcane.
Rebounding rice output impact
“To meet a 2025 deadline for E20 implementation, India began sourcing significant amounts of ethanol feedstock from grains, particularly corn, which formed around 46 per cent of new ethanol feedstocks in 2024-25,” it said.
However, as rice supplies rebounded in 2025-26, the Indian government removed restrictions on the use of rice in ethanol production, shifting feedstock demand away from corn use.
This year, corn with 35 per cent moisture was sold at ₹12,000-13,000 a tonne in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. “You wouldn’t believe that there were no takers for it then,” said Bengani.
The USDA said this helped buyers in Vietnam to get corn at $230 a tonne in December. “India is expected to play a larger role in South and South-East Asia this year,” it said.
Published on March 19, 2026
