Indian corn export suspended

More than 1,00,000 tonne of Indian corn set to be exported to Southeast Asian countries has been rejected at local ports due to the poor quality of grains, three trade sources told Reuters. After the weakest monsoon in 37 years had reduced crop output, unseasonal rains during the harvesting then damaged grains beyond quality limits for exports, traders said. 'There have been quality issues this time... some export containers have been rejected before loading,' said an official with Kakinada port in Andhra Pradesh, which handles much of India's corn exports. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, would not discuss the affected volume of exports, but other sources said it was at least 100,000 tonnes. India sells around 2 to 3 million tonnes of corn a year, out of global trade of around 80 million tonnes, and is an important supplier for Asian buyers seeking prompt shipment. 'Large amount of the commodity has been rejected even before exports could be loaded,' said an official with an international grains association, who declined to be identified. Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam are major buyers of Indian corn.