Maize prices fell due to a rise in supply from Uttar Pradesh. The maize crop sown in Uttar Pradesh during the rabi season usually arrives very late and it has now started in full swing.

A weak demand from bulk consumers also weighed on prices. End users are avoiding picking up large stocks due to sharply higher prices.

On NCDEX, however, maize futures rose sharply due to an anticipated decline in arrivals in the coming days. The most-active July contract was up nearly 1% at 1,854 rupees per 100 kg.

Corn futures saw 2 to 12 cent gains in most contracts, with the continuous front month chart hitting the highest price since June 2014.

The spreads from nearby old crop contracts to deferred new crop contracts are narrowing, insinuating “we want your corn now!”. A private export sale of 175,000 MT of 19/20 corn to Mexico was reported through the USDA’s large sale daily reporting system this morning.

USDA shows that US exporters sold 168,503 MT of old crop corn in the week that ended on June 6. That was better than last week’s net reductions but down 82% from last year.

A much larger South American crop yr/yr and rising US FOB prices are a main reason for that lack of sales. New crop sales totaled 94,107 MT.

Analysts with Ukraine’s ProAgro estimate the country’s corn crop will hit 32.6 MMT, up 1.4 MMT from their prior number.