Despite consistent demands from the poultry industry, the Union Government has ruled out a ban on maize exports, according to Commodity Online.

At a press conference in Vigyan Bhawan, Commerce Secretary G.K. Pillai said that the government will also not revoke existing export bans on rice and wheat.

He added that the government is likely to review the ban on food grains by October-November this year. "This will be done once the picture is clearer," he said.

About 50 per cent of India's maize crop is used in poultry feed and about eight per cent by the starch industry. Indian maize exports are around 500,000 tons annually.

Concerned about rising corn prices, the poultry industry has repeatedly demanded an export ban on maize as well as a withdrawal of grains from future trading because of the recent steep rise in global prices of maize.

India produces around 10-14 million tons of maize annually - about two per cent of total world production. In India, maize is generally a summer crop, and most is grown in the so-called southern 'Corn Belt' states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.