Maize from Bihar, UP feeds poultry of Punjab, Haryana

Vijay C Roy

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 22

Punjab-based starch and poultry feed industries travel hundreds of kilometres to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to procure superior quality maize in bulk and also save up to Rs 50 per quintal.

Maize production in Punjab is far less than demand mainly because of farmers’ over-dependence on lucrative crops like paddy. The annual industrial demand of maize is around 3-4 million tonnes while Punjab produces less than 1 million tonne. Out of the total demand, almost 70% is being consumed by the poultry feed manufacturers.

“We prefer buying maize from Bihar and UP because of the quality for the poultry feed. Annually, we require around 75,000 tonnes of dry maize in Punjab and adjoining states,” said a senior official of Saguna Foods, a poultry feed manufacturer having units in Punjab and Haryana.  

Punjab is likely to produce 5.70 lakh tonnes of maize in the current kharif season compared to 4.09 lakh tonnes in the previous year. As compared to Punjab, the average production in Bihar is around 6 million tonnes. Bihar grows the largest quantity of maize for the industrial use.

“We need bulk quantity and better quality. Price is secondary,” said Raja Fat and Feeds Director Mohit Raja. The landing cost of maize purchased from Bihar is around Rs 1,230-1,250 per quintal. Punjab’s maize is, however, sold at around Rs 1,250-1,270 per quintal, including levies.

Since the requirement of the industry is huge, there is a potential for the farmers of Punjab to opt for diversification and grow maize, Bhavdeep Sardana of Sukhjit Starch & Chemicals Ltd said.

According to experts, promoting less water-intensive maize crop linked to the food processing industry might ensure assured marketing opportunities to Punjab farmers.

Farmers of Punjab are, however, reluctant to grow maize because of price volatility. Last year, the mandi prices of maize in Punjab had sank below the Minimum Support Price (MSP) mainly because of bumper production. The maize prices in mandis were trading around Rs 1,000-1,100 per quintal depending on the moisture content against the declared MSP of Rs 1,365 per quintal. Farmers resorted to distress selling as there was not any procurement by the government agencies. Currently, “spring” maize (harvested in June) in Punjab is being traded in a range of Rs 1,150-1,170 per quintal against the MSP of Rs 1,425.

“The price realised barely matched the cost of production. Also, there is no assured buying from the government or the industry, so farmers are reluctant to grow maize,” said Dalbir Singh, a farmer from Nawanshahr.