NEW DELHI: India has allowed poultry producers and starch manufacturers to import up to 100,000 tonnes of corn at a reduced duty of 15 percent, according to a government order on Thursday, to tide over a shortage triggered by pest infestations and dry weather.
However, the crop must be free of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), according to the order.
India, the world’s seventh-biggest corn producer otherwise imposes a 60 percent import tax on the grain.
Stung by a sharp rise in local prices, poultry producers and starch manufacturers had asked the government to allow imports of half a million tonnes of corn at a reduced rate.
In 2016, India had allowed duty-free corn imports which totalled 181,000 tonnes.
