India 2010-11 Corn Output Likely To Rise Over 15%

Corn production in India is expected to rise more than 15% in the next crop year starting July because of farmers using new hybrid crops, the head of a state-run agriculture-research agency said Thursday.

India's production could rise to about 20 million metric tons from an estimated 17.3 million tons in the current crop year ending June, Sain Dass, director of the Directorate of Maize Research, told Dow Jones Newswires.India is the world's fifth-largest producer of corn and a higher output will help it export more of the commodity.India usually exports 2.5 million-3.0 million tons of corn each fiscal year, mainly to countries such as South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia and Vietnam, but that figure is expected to be lower this year because of a drought in 2009.

The country's output in the 2008-09 crop year was 19.7 million tons.

"Farmers have started adopting the single-cross hybrid seeds of maize (corn), which can raise yield by up to 30%," Dass said. "The areas under the seeds are expected to rise in 2010-11, which would help raise production.

"The high-yielding, locally developed crop uses less water and is less susceptible to dry spells, he said. Farmers in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh and some eastern states have shifted from rice this year to corn as it needs less water.

"If there is better rainfall in 2010, the prospect of corn will only be brighter," Dass added.Earlier this week, federal Farm Secretary P. K. Basu told Dow Jones Newswires that early signs indicated normal monsoon rains in 2010.

The June-September monsoon season is important for India as about 60% of the country's farmland is rain-fed. Last year's drought was the worst in nearly four decades.More than 60% of the corn is sown in summer, but some quantities are grown in winter as well. Summer corn is usually sown in May-June and harvested in September-October, while winter corn is sown in October-November and harvested in March-April.

Source: CME Group