India corn exports set for three-year high on competitive pricing

MUMBAI: India’s corn exports are set to climb to a three-year high this year, as record production lowered prices, while cheaper freight to key Asian importers made supplies from the country more competitive.

Vietnam, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan bought more from India in the first five months of the year as global freight costs jumped following the outbreak of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. Higher exports also supported Indian corn prices.

“In the past few months, export demand stayed pretty strong,” Nitin Gupta, deputy country head at Olam Agri India, an agricultural commodity trader, told Reuters.

“Indian prices were under pressure at a time when landed corn costs from the U.S. and South America were higher for Asian buyers because of rising freight costs.”

India’s corn exports in the first five months of 2026 rose to 1.08 million metric tons from 228,844 tons in the same period a year earlier, according to provisional data from the trade ministry.

Total exports for 2026 could climb to 1.8 million tons, the highest since 2023 and more than double last year’s 805,935 tons, Gupta said.

India’s corn production in 2025/26 crop year jumped 27% from a year ago to a record 55 million tons after farmers received higher prices in 2024 due to robust demand from ethanol producers.

In recent months, corn prices had been falling due to excessive supplies but are now recovering as exports have helped reduce the surplus, said Hemant Jain, an exporter in Indore in the central state of Madhya Pradesh.

“The price rise has already started to moderate exports. Only India’s neighbours, such as Bangladesh and Nepal, are now placing new orders, while other Asian buyers are turning to U.S. corn.”

Indian exports are expected to regain momentum from October with the arrival of the new season crop, provided production remains strong, as concerns persist over rainfall due to El Nino, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global commodities trade house.

Lower prices and below-average rainfall could prompt farmers to shift from corn to other crops, he said.