Poultry boom drives corn demand in Pakistan

Surging poultry production is driving Pakistan’s corn demand to record highs, slashing exports and reshaping the country’s grain market. In the first quarter of 2025, Pakistan’s corn exports experience a drastic 87% drop owing to a mix of administrative hurdles and surging demand from the domestic feed manufacturers. Pakistan exported only 53,000 tonnes of corn in the first 3 months of the year, suspending deliveries to over a dozen countries, including China, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia and Romania, official data showed. In 2024, Pakistan exported 419,000 tonnes of corn, which is 185% up compared with the previous year, largely thanks to a surge in exports to Vietnam. The upward trend has reversed this year, with several contributing factors. In addition, exports may decline under the pressure of booming demand from the domestic feed industry, the USDA said in a recent report. The ban on GMO soybean imports in October 2022 had a severe adverse impact on the poultry industry, ...