MMTC plans to import corn at lower duties

Reuters
A workers empties a sack of corn kernels at the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) market yard on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India, August 31, 2016. REUTERS/Amit Dave/Files

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian state-run trader MMTC Ltd plans to import corn at lower taxes for local consumers such as starch makers and poultry farmers, the firm said.

India imposes 60 percent tax on overseas buying of corn but under the tariff rate quota it can allow imports at lower or zero duty.

MMTC has asked consumers to provide their requirement details and consent authorising MMTC to import corn on their behalf, the trader said in a statement.

"Imports would be organised after issuance of notification by the government of India and MMTC obtaining necessary licence," it said.

Below-normal monsoon rains and an infestation of the fall armyworm, which devastated African crops in 2017, have slashed India's corn output and boosted prices, increasing chances the government will grant duty-free corn imports for the first time since 2016.

In 2016, India had allowed state-run PEC Ltd to import corn under the tariff rate quota at zero percent duty.

(Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)