India's poultry industry looks to cut corn exports to calm prices

India needs to restrict corn exports to contain the rise in domestic prices and ensure sufficient supply of the main raw material poultry feed, the country's poultry industry said on Tuesday. Domestic corn prices rose, driven by high demand, increased exports and some crop damage after heavy rains. “We are facing a huge shortage. That's why we ask the government to ban corn exports," Neeraj Kumar Srivastava, president of the Compound Animal Feed Manufacturers Association of India, told Reuters in an interview. Maize prices in the Gulab Bagh market in the eastern state of Bihar, a major maize hub, rose by around 12% to 25,000 rupees ($302.02) a tonne last year, pushing the cost of production to the Indian poultry industry. “Maize prices have been rising for the last few years, but the recent increase was a big blow to the industry, which is why we are going through a difficult phase,” said Srivastava. “We can no longer pass the cost on to consumers as higher egg and chicken prices ...