Year: 2017

The food crisis in African countries, caused by two consecutive years of drought, may aggravate further as a migratory pest, fall armyworm, has hit the maize crop in the southern regions of the continent. According to media reports, the pest has affected maize production in half of the African countries, especially in southern Africa. So far, around 1.5 million ha of land in 25 African countries has been infected by the pest which mostly attacks rice, wheat, sweetcorn, sorghum, soybean, and potato crops other than maize. Fall armyworm is believed to originate from America and was first detected in Africa in 2016. Higher demand for maize from Africa may lift the prices in global markets and may make imports less viable for India.

Supplies in the benchmark Purnea in Bihar, the largest producer of rabi maize in the country, are falling. Most farmers have already sold their crops and the remaining supplies were being hit by rains. Maize futures on the NCDEX also ended higher, as supplies from the kharif crop are months away, while those from the rabi crop were getting over. The most active August maize contract on the NCDEX ended up 0.7% from the previous close. In Purnea, prices rose by 5 rupees.

Maize farmers in some pockets of Vidarbha, Maharashtra, may have to re-sow the crops, as the seeds sown in June have dried up due to scanty rains in the region.