India clears 500,000 tonnes of corn imports at much-reduced duty in boost for poultry sector

A major exporter of corn to southeast Asia until a few years ago, India has turned importer as output has fallen and demand has grow from domestic poultry producers and corn starch manufacturers.

India's corn imports in 2019 jumped to 312,389 tonnes in 2019 from just 30,962 tonnes a year ago, the government data showed.

India, which does not allow cultivation of any genetically modified food crops, has rules in place to ensure that imports contain no trace of genetically modified organisms.

New Delhi also cleared imports of 10,000 tonnes of milk and cream powder for this year at a concessional 15 percent import tax, the government notification said.

The country also authorised import quotas of 150,000 tonnes each of rapeseed oil and sunflower oil carrying import taxes of 45 percent and 50 percent respectively.

India levies charge on some steel imports from China, Korea, Vietnam

India is the world's biggest importer of edible oils. It mainly imports rapeseed/canola oil from Canada and sunflower oil from Ukraine and Russia.

But B.V. Mehta, executive director of the Solvent Extractors' Association (SEA), a Mumbai-based trade body, said Indian refiners may be unlikely to import rapeseed oil and sunflower oil under those tariff-rate quotas as the import tax on regular imports is actually lower, at 35 percent.