The Maize industry got together on its apex platform to discuss the growth strategy and competitiveness as a measure to boost the productivity of maize and maize processing industry. Over 200 delegates representing the entire value chain of Maize including farmers from across the maize producing states like Bihar, Punjab, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, etc.
came together on 9-10 April to ponder over all-inclusive solution-oriented discussion for betterment of maize industry in the country and the region.
Inaugurating the “India Maize Summit 2015” jointly organized by commodity exchange NCDEX and industry body FICCI, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Hon’ble Union Minister for Food Processing Industry highlighted the government’s priorities for maize and maize processing industry. This is the third consecutive year that NCDEX and FICCI have taken this initiative to provide a global platform to entire maize value chain; including policy makers and trade participants to discuss opportunities and challenges prevailing in industry.
NCDEX is the leading online national platform for Maize in India. The recent launch of Maize Forwards on NCDEX has received a good response from maize traders, FPOs and millers among others. Participants from maize trading hubs like Purnia, Delhi, Sangli & Indore are actively using the NCDEX platform. In the Forwards segment alone, the Exchange has registered 4100 tonnes of trades out of which 4070 tonnes has already been delivered.
Mr. Samir Shah, MD & CEO, NCDEX said “While there is considerable scope for product related improvements, there is also an urgent need to address integration challenges faced by the industry. Commodity exchanges play a critical role in acting as a platform that industry can access for integrating the value chain as well as offsetting the risk it is exposed to.”
Maize is the most widely distributed crops of the world and ranks first in the world production followed by wheat and rice. Even in Asia, the rapid increase in maize acreage in the last decade is an indication that it is winning the battle as compared with rice, the staple food. The Asian region will see itself as a major global player in the near term.
In India too, it has been consistently growing in recent years. As Asia’s agribusiness and food processing industries and economies continue to grow, the opportunities for the use of maize as food, feed, fodder and in industry will also increase signifi¬cantly. The growing needs of the poultry sector, the expansion of maize seed sector and increasing interest by consumers in nutritionally enriched and specialty maize products indicates the growing potential. In such scenario, it is important to build a competitive supply chain of maize with a broader aim of economic improvement in the maize value chain.
